Retail ecommerce consulting for the Middle East
For retailers and brands selling online in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, or bringing a European brand to Gulf shoppers, from platform choice to checkout to repeat orders.
What Gulf shoppers expect from an online store
Retail ecommerce consulting in the Middle East starts at the checkout. Saudi shoppers expect to pay with Mada cards and Apple Pay, and many Saudi stores also offer instalments through Tabby or Tamara. They expect the store to read naturally in Arabic, right to left, with prices, sizes and delivery dates that make sense locally. A European store with an Arabic plug-in rarely meets that standard.
Platform choice shapes everything after launch. Salla and Zid are Saudi platforms built around local payments, shipping and Arabic. Shopify gives more flexibility for brands selling across several countries. We recommend the one that fits your catalogue, markets and team, and we build on all three.
Online sellers in Saudi Arabia also have obligations. The E-Commerce Law, issued in 2019, requires stores to show their name, address, contact details and commercial registration, and to state the total price including delivery and taxes before purchase. VAT-registered businesses must also issue e-invoices under ZATCA rules. We make sure your store displays this information clearly, and we refer the legal questions to your adviser. With Vision 2030 encouraging digital commerce, both the platforms and the rules keep moving, so we check the current position at the start of every project.
What we focus on first
Checkout and payments
We place test orders on mobile with Mada, Apple Pay and instalment options, and record where the checkout fails or confuses.
Arabic product content
We review product titles, descriptions and filters in Arabic for accuracy and for the words shoppers search for.
Tracking you can trust
We check that GA4 and ad platform conversions match real orders, so budget decisions rest on correct numbers.
Delivery and returns
We look at delivery promises, shipping costs and the returns policy, because these decide whether a first order becomes a second.
How the five stages apply to a store
Strategize sets the platform, the markets, the product range to lead with and the marketing budget split. Build delivers the store, payments, shipping, analytics and the launch campaigns. Optimize works on conversion rate, average order value and repeat purchase. Grow adds new markets, marketplaces or categories once the core store performs.
European brands entering the Gulf can combine this with our Saudi market entry work. Gulf brands selling into Europe can use our Europe expansion offer for German, Spanish and French stores.
Services that apply
E-commerce & Website Solutions
Store builds and rebuilds on Salla, Zid, Shopify or custom, with Gulf payments and Arabic localisation.
Digital Marketing
Arabic SEO for product and category pages, plus paid search and social measured by orders.
IT Solutions
Integration between your store, ERP, inventory and accounting so stock and orders stay in sync.
Questions retailers ask
Should we build on Salla, Zid or Shopify?
Salla and Zid suit businesses selling mainly in Saudi Arabia that want local payments and shipping set up quickly. Shopify suits brands selling across several countries or needing more customisation. We compare them against your catalogue, markets and budget in the Discover stage.
Can you migrate our existing store without losing search traffic?
Yes. We map old URLs to new ones, carry over product data and set redirects before launch, then monitor search performance in the weeks after. Some fluctuation is normal after any migration.
Do you set up Tabby, Tamara and Mada?
Yes, we integrate the payment options your platform supports. The merchant agreements with each provider are signed by your business, and we help you prepare what they ask for.
We are a European brand. Can we sell to Saudi customers from Europe?
Some brands start with cross-border shipping, others set up locally through a distributor or their own entity. The right route depends on your products, customs and tax position, which we assess with licensed legal and tax partners.
Is translating our store into Arabic enough?
Rarely. Shoppers notice literal translation in product names, sizing and tone. We localise the content, layout and search terms so the store reads as if it was written in Arabic first.
Let us look at your store
Book a consultation and we will review your checkout, product content and tracking first. You can also send the store link on WhatsApp.