UAE’s ‘Couch Economy’ Grows as Online Payments Reach 55%, Visa Report Finds
Visa’s latest report tracks shifts in UAE consumer spending across digital purchases, food delivery and at-home entertainment.
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The UAE’s “couch economy” is growing as consumers make more purchases online and through apps, with these channels accounting for 55% of domestic payment volume, up from 35% in 2019, according to Visa’s latest report.
The Visa Business and Economic Insights report, “The Great Indoors: How the ‘Couch’ Is Redefining Consumer Spending Habits,” examines the country’s couch economy, or spending associated with home-centered consumption, across digital purchases, food delivery, and entertainment.
“The rise of the couch economy reflects the UAE’s digital advancement and consumers’ growing expectations for convenience and seamless experiences. While technology has helped accelerate this trend, our research suggests that these expectations are increasingly shaping how consumers spend,” Mohamed Bardastani, Visa’s Principal Economist for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, said.
“As online and in-app payments become a bigger part of everyday life, digital payments are helping enable the convenient, connected commerce experiences consumers now expect,” Bardastani added.
In 2026, 25.7% of active UAE cards made at least 10 online or in-app payments a month, compared with 4.5% in 2018. The corresponding figures were 25.4% in the United States and 27.8% in the United Kingdom.
The share of UAE cards used on food delivery apps rose from about 2% in 2018 to nearly 30% in 2026, with most growth coming from everyday spenders rather than higher-spending cardholders.
The share of cards with streaming and pay-TV subscriptions also remained higher than the share with cinema and concert spending.
The findings are based on anonymized VisaNet transactions involving Visa credit, debit, and prepaid cards. Domestic payment volume covers transactions made with domestically issued cards at domestic merchants.
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The UAE’s “couch economy” is growing as consumers make more purchases online and through apps, with these channels accounting for 55% of domestic payment volume, up from 35% in 2019, according to Visa’s latest report.
The Visa Business and Economic Insights report, “The Great Indoors: How the ‘Couch’ Is Redefining Consumer Spending Habits,” examines the country’s couch economy, or spending associated with home-centered consumption, across digital purchases, food delivery, and entertainment.
“The rise of the couch economy reflects the UAE’s digital advancement and consumers’ growing expectations for convenience and seamless experiences. While technology has helped accelerate this trend, our research suggests that these expectations are increasingly shaping how consumers spend,” Mohamed Bardastani, Visa’s Principal Economist for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, said.
Entrepreneur Middle East Staff
Entrepreneur Staff
