eCommerce market in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is the 27th largest market for eCommerce with a predicted revenue of US$13,200.3 million by 2024, placing it ahead of Argentina. Revenue is expected to show a compound annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2028) of 9.8%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$19,160.5 million by 2028. With an expected increase of 12.8% in 2024, the Saudi Arabian eCommerce market contributed to the worldwide growth rate of 7.4% in 2024. Like in Saudi Arabia, global eCommerce sales are expected to increase over the next years. Seven markets are considered by ECDB within the Saudi Arabian eCommerce market. Hobby & Leisure is the largest market and accounts for 23.4% of the Saudi Arabian eCommerce revenue. It is followed by Electronics with 23.3%, Fashion with 18.4%, Furniture & Homeware with 12.1%, Care Products with 8.9%, DIY with 8.1%, and Grocery with the remaining 5.8%.

The online share refers to the proportion of the retail volume that is transacted via the Internet. It includes purchases via desktop PC, tablet or smartphone, both via website or app. Only retail of physical goods is taken into account. In the Saudi Arabian retail market, the online share is 8.0% and will increase by an average of 8.9% to 11.2% by 2028.

The biggest player in the Saudi Arabian eCommerce market is jarir.com. The store had a revenue of US$537.0 million in 2023. Store rankings include every store that generates revenue in Saudi Arabia. These stores can either have a national focus and only sell in their main country or operate on a global scale. For this evaluation, only revenue created in Saudi Arabia was considered.

With 96.2% VISA the most commonly offered payment method of all online stores in the Saudi Arabian eCommerce market in 2023. Like VISA Mastercard with a share of 94.2% and American Express with a share of 36.5% the payment type Cards is the most common used by online retailers in in the Saudi Arabian eCommerce market in 2023. Other commonly used payment methods in that market are mada (E-wallets) with 75.0% and Cash on delivery (Cash on delivery) with 55.8% of stores offering that payment method to the clients.

Despite Aramex's dominant position with 65.3% of online stores opting for its services, the Saudi Arabian eCommerce market in 2023 remains diverse and competitive. Several other shipping service providers, including SMSA, DHL, J&T Express, and Own delivery service, hold smaller but significant shares, contributing to a dynamic and fragmented market.

Although Salla holds a commanding lead with 24.5% of online stores using the shop software solution, the Saudi Arabian eCommerce market in 2023 remains vibrant and competitive. This is due to the presence of several other shop software solutions, including Magento, WooCommerce, Zid Platform, and Shopify, which collectively hold a significant share of the market.