Digital Transformation of Heat-Not-Burn Tobacco Product Retail in the United Arab Emirates: An Exploratory Case Study of E-Commerce Adoption and Consumer Behavior

The global heated tobacco product (HTP) market has grown rapidly, yet scholarly attention to e-commerce distribution models in Gulf region markets remains limited. This exploratory case study examines the digitalisation of HTP retail in the United Arab Emirates through cross-firm observation of two independently owned and separately operated competing platforms, tereazone.ae (https://tereazone.ae) and tereablends.ae (https://tereablends.ae). Neither platform shares ownership, management, hosting infrastructure, or business registration with the other. Drawing on publicly available market data, direct platform analysis, WHOIS domain records, and peer-reviewed literature on tobacco harm reduction and GCC digital commerce, the study investigates three dimensions: (1) structural characteristics of niche e-commerce platforms serving age-restricted product categories, (2) consumer procurement patterns for heated tobacco products under UAE regulations, and (3) the role of search engine optimisation and content marketing in shaping market accessibility. Results indicate that competing platforms independently converge on granular product taxonomy, localised content strategies, and regulatory compliance as core market-positioning levers. The paper contributes to the nascent literature on digital retail for reduced-risk nicotine products in the MENA region and carries implications for regulators, public health researchers, and e-commerce practitioners.