How to Start an Online Store in Saudi Arabia (2026): Complete Guide

Starting an online store in Saudi Arabia begins with a legal entity (a Commercial Registration or Freelance Document) and a business bank account. Then choose a platform, enable local payments, connect a carrier, authenticate the store with the Saudi Business Center and register for VAT once sales pass the threshold. Launch follows, with a 90-day marketing plan and WhatsApp for order confirmations and updates.

Key takeaways

• Get legal first: a Commercial Registration (it no longer expires; an annual confirmation is enough) or a Freelance Document if your activity is on its list, then authenticate the store on the Business Platform, which replaced Maroof.
• The E-Commerce Law requires you to disclose your identity and registration details, and gives consumers the right to cancel within 7 days of receipt, with specific exceptions.
• Pick the platform for your stage: Salla and Zid for a broad app ecosystem, Watily for store, WhatsApp, invoicing and loyalty in one subscription, WooCommerce and Shopify if you have technical skills or target markets abroad.
• Payments: mada and Apple Pay are essential, BNPL from SAMA-licensed providers lifts basket size, and cash on delivery is managed with confirmation rather than removed.
• Tax: VAT registration is mandatory above SAR 375,000 a year and optional above SAR 187,500, and e-invoicing applies to every registrant.
• WhatsApp for order confirmation, shipping updates and review requests reduces support questions and doorstep refusals.

Requirements to open an online store in Saudi Arabia

Sort out the legal side first: payment gateways, authentication and customer trust depend on it.

Commercial Registration or Freelance Document

A Commercial Registration (CR) is the usual route for any store selling products, and it is issued online through the Saudi Business Center. Since the new Commercial Register Law took effect in April 2025, according to the Ministry of Commerce, a CR no longer has an expiry date. Renewal is replaced by an annual data confirmation; miss it and the CR and linked services are suspended.

The Freelance Document is issued to individuals by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development through the Freelance Platform and covers a defined list of professions and activities. If your activity is listed, it is a light way to start; if not, a CR is the right choice. Either way, open a bank account in the business name, because payment gateways and carriers require it.

Authenticating your store with the Saudi Business Center (Maroof's replacement)

Online store authentication moved from Maroof to the Business Platform run by the Saudi Business Center, as announced by the Ministry of Commerce. It requires a valid CR or Freelance Document and a bank account, and it gives shoppers an official way to verify your store. We cover the steps in our guide to authenticating and registering an online store.

E-Commerce Law basics

Online selling is governed by the E-Commerce Law, issued by Royal Decree M/126 dated 7/11/1440H. What matters most to a store owner:

• Disclosure: show your business name, address, contact details and CR or document data clearly in the store.
• Right to cancel: consumers may cancel within seven days of receiving a product they have not used. Exceptions include items made to their specification and other cases set by the regulations. Write a plain-language return policy that matches this.
• Delivery: if delivery is more than fifteen days late from the contract date or the agreed date, the consumer may cancel, so never promise dates you cannot guarantee.
• Advertising: false or misleading claims are prohibited, and ads must identify the advertiser and the product.

Some categories, such as food, cosmetics and devices, may need approvals from the relevant authority before you sell, so check your category before listing products.

Protecting customer data

Your store collects names, mobile numbers and addresses, which are personal data under the Personal Data Protection Law. Collect only what you need, explain in your privacy policy why and how you use it, keep marketing consent separate from order consent, and keep a record of that consent. Give dashboard access only to team members who need it.

How to start an online store in Saudi Arabia, step by step

1. Pick a clear category and customer: a store focused on one category is easier to market, photograph and stock than a general store.
2. Work out costs and margin: purchase price, shipping, payment fees, VAT and returns. Read our guide to online store setup costs in Saudi Arabia before pricing anything.
3. Issue your CR or Freelance Document and open the business bank account.
4. Choose a store platform using the comparison below, and register a domain in your brand name.
5. Prepare content: real photos on a clean background, Arabic descriptions that answer size, ingredient and usage questions, and VAT-inclusive prices if you are registered.
6. Enable payments: at least mada, Visa, Mastercard and Apple Pay, then BNPL and cash on delivery depending on your category.
7. Connect shipping: one or more carriers covering your target cities, with published fees and delivery times.
8. Write the policy pages: returns and exchanges, privacy, and your contact and registration details.
9. Authenticate the store on the Business Platform and register for VAT if the threshold applies.
10. Test, then launch: place test orders with every payment method, check the confirmation messages and invoice, then start your 90-day plan.

Pre-launch checklist

Choosing a platform: Salla, Zid, Watily, WooCommerce or Shopify?

No platform is best for everyone; the right one fits your stage, skills and needs. Here is a fair comparison of general characteristics; check current prices on each official site.

How to decide

• If your store is on Salla or Zid and you are happy with it, there is no need to move. Add what is missing, such as the Watily app for Salla stores or the Watily app for Zid stores for order messages and loyalty.
• If you are starting with a small range and already sell over WhatsApp, a store that combines catalog, WhatsApp API and invoicing in one dashboard saves you stitching tools together.
• If you have a technical team and want full control, WooCommerce is flexible, but budget for hosting, maintenance and security.
• If most of your sales are outside the Kingdom, a global platform may suit you, with local invoicing arranged if you are VAT-registered.

Questions to ask any platform before subscribing

• Can I export my products and customer data if I move later?
• What are the full costs: subscription, any sales commission, gateway fees and add-on app prices?
• Are ZATCA-compliant e-invoices built in, or do I need an external system?
• Is there an official WhatsApp Business API connection for order alerts, or will I rely on a separate tool?
• Who answers when checkout breaks on a peak-season night: Arabic support on Saudi time, or email only?

Payments: mada, Apple Pay, STC Pay, BNPL and cash on delivery

Core payment methods

mada is the local card network most of your customers carry, Apple Pay reduces checkout to a tap, and Visa and Mastercard serve credit-card payers. Digital wallets such as STC Pay add an option for shoppers who prefer paying from a wallet, depending on your payment gateway. We compare the options and their fees in our guide to online payment methods for Saudi stores.

Before signing with a gateway, ask about fees per method, settlement time to your bank, and refund and chargeback handling. Delayed settlements can squeeze cash in a busy season.

Buy now, pay later

Installment services such as Tabby and Tamara operate under licences from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), which has issued rules regulating BNPL activity. They help with mid- and high-priced products, but include their commission in your margin. Setup details are in our guide to installment payments for online stores.

Cash on delivery or prepaid? Reducing refused orders

Many shoppers prefer cash on delivery with an unfamiliar store, and a refused order costs you shipping both ways. Manage the option rather than dropping it:

• Confirm before shipping: send a WhatsApp message with the order summary, the final price including VAT and shipping, and the expected delivery date, ask the customer to confirm by replying, and do not ship unconfirmed orders.
• No surprises at the door: most refusals come from a final price that was unclear or a delay nobody mentioned.
• Small incentives for prepaying: a token discount or priority shipping, without forcing anyone.
• Build trust gradually: real photos, a written return policy and a visible authentication badge; returning customers accept prepayment faster than first-time buyers.
• Measure and decide: if refusals cluster in a city or product category, restrict cash on delivery there or ask for a deposit.

Shipping, delivery and order updates

Choose a carrier by the cities you serve and your product type; most hosted platforms connect to local carriers and print waybills. Customers want three things: cost shown before payment, a realistic delivery date, and tracking sent without asking.

• Set a free-shipping threshold from your actual margin, not market averages.
• Publish cut-off times: when today's orders ship, and how timings change in seasons and holidays.
• Prepare the returns path before your first order: who collects returns, who pays, and when refunds are issued.
• If you run your own couriers in your city, manage and dispatch them with Watily Fleet for delivery teams.

Order updates on WhatsApp

Saudi shoppers expect order updates without asking. Four messages cover it: an order confirmation with a summary, a cash-on-delivery confirmation before shipping, a shipping notice with a tracking link, and a review request after delivery. These are sent through the WhatsApp Business API with Meta-approved templates and are usually utility messages, priced in Saudi Arabia at SAR 0.0401 per delivered message under Meta's rate card effective 1 July 2026, while marketing messages cost SAR 0.1877. Requirements and setup are in our WhatsApp Business API guide for Saudi Arabia.

Note two things. Offers need prior consent and an easy opt-out. And from 1 October 2026 Meta charges free-form replies inside the customer-service window at the utility rate after the first 1,000 free service messages per number per month, while incoming customer messages stay free. So plan short, useful replies instead of long message chains.

VAT and e-invoicing

According to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA), VAT registration is mandatory if your annual revenue exceeds SAR 375,000, and optional above SAR 187,500 and below the mandatory threshold. Once registered, you add VAT (15%) to your prices and issue compliant e-invoices.

• Phase 1 (generation): every registrant must issue invoices electronically with the required fields and a QR code.
• Phase 2 (integration): connecting your invoicing system to the Fatoora platform, rolled out in waves that ZATCA announces to targeted businesses in advance.
• Invoice type: sales to individuals usually use a simplified invoice, and sales to businesses a standard tax invoice.

If you are registered, choose a compliant platform or invoicing system from day one, such as Watily's ZATCA-compliant e-invoicing, which issues Phase 2 invoices with a QR code and sends the invoice PDF to the customer on WhatsApp.

Marketing in the first 90 days

Days 1 to 30: your closest audience

Start with people who know you: followers, past customers and your network. Share the link, ask early buyers for honest reviews, and build a WhatsApp list with explicit consent. Fix where visitors drop off before spending serious budget.

Days 31 to 60: small, measurable ads

Test small budgets on the platforms where your audience is, such as Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok, and send some of them straight into a WhatsApp chat if your product needs advice before purchase. Pause what brings no orders and double down on what works.

Days 61 to 90: repeat purchase and loyalty

Your second customer is cheaper than your first. Launch a simple points or stamps loyalty program, send offers to one-time buyers, and write content that answers customer questions so your store appears in search and in AI assistants' answers. Plan for the next season with our Saudi retail seasons marketing calendar.

What to measure in the first three months

Focus on a few metrics that drive decisions: visit-to-order conversion, average order value, cart abandonment rate, cash-on-delivery refusal rate, acquisition cost per ad channel, and the share of customers who bought a second time. If one of them improves every month, you are on track.

Common mistakes when starting an online store

• Launching with a huge range before testing demand on a few products.
• Pricing without the full picture of shipping, commissions, returns and VAT.
• Hiding business details or the return policy, which breaks the law and weakens trust.
• Promising fast delivery your carrier cannot guarantee.
• Running orders from a personal WhatsApp, so chats get lost and everything stops when one person is away.
• Sending offers to people who never opted in, which drives reports and hurts your number.
• Spending on ads before fixing checkout and store speed.
• Ignoring customers after the first order instead of turning them into regulars.
• Forgetting the annual CR confirmation, which suspends the CR and linked services such as your bank account.
• Leaving customers waiting for hours on peak days with no auto-reply to reassure them and answer common questions.

How Watily helps

Watily is a Saudi platform bundling what a new store needs into one subscription. Every plan includes every system; plans differ only in limits:

• A no-code online store with ready themes and a visual theme builder, in Arabic and English, with mada, Apple Pay and Tabby, and installable on the customer's home screen as a web app.
• The official WhatsApp Business API with order and shipping alerts, abandoned-cart recovery, a team inbox and AI replies.
• ZATCA Phase 2 compliant invoices sent as PDFs on WhatsApp.
• Digital loyalty cards in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet with no app for the customer to download.
• Plans in SAR: Basic SAR 49/month, Growth SAR 249 and Pro SAR 549, excluding VAT, with no activation fees and a 2-day free trial on Growth and Pro. Details are on the pricing page.

Ready to turn the steps into a working store? Start your store with Watily and launch store, WhatsApp and invoicing from one dashboard, or explore the Watily platform and compare plans before you decide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the requirements to open an online store in Saudi Arabia?

You need a Commercial Registration, or a Freelance Document if your activity is on its list, and a bank account in the business name, then store authentication on the Saudi Business Center's Business Platform. You must also display your identity details and a return policy consistent with the E-Commerce Law, and register for VAT if annual revenue exceeds SAR 375,000.

Is Maroof registration still required?

Online store authentication moved from Maroof to the Business Platform run by the Saudi Business Center. It requires a valid CR or Freelance Document and a bank account, and lets shoppers verify your store officially.

Can I open an online store without a Commercial Registration?

Yes, with a Freelance Document if your activity is among the professions listed on the Freelance Platform, which is for individuals. If your activity is not listed, or you plan to scale and hire, a Commercial Registration is the right choice.

How long does it take to open an online store in Saudi Arabia?

The CR and authentication are online, and a hosted store can be ready in days if your photos and descriptions are. Payment gateways and the WhatsApp Business API depend on each provider's document review, so start early.

How do I reduce refused cash-on-delivery orders?

Send the customer a confirmation before shipping with the final price including VAT and shipping and the delivery date, and ship only after they confirm. Add a small incentive for prepaying, and restrict cash on delivery in cities or categories where refusals repeat.