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E-commerce in Saudi Arabia: what your store needs

The short answer

Plan four things before the build. The store must show who you are: name, address, contact details, tax number and commercial registration where you have one, and how to complain. Prices include VAT, which is 15%, and a VAT-registered business in the Kingdom must issue its invoices through a solution that meets ZATCA's e-invoicing rules. mada is Saudi Arabia's national card network, so check that your payment gateway accepts mada cards for a business like yours. If you will sell in Arabic, design right to left from the first screen.

For
Businesses planning an online store for customers in Saudi Arabia
You leave with
What the store must show, the tax and payment questions to settle, and how to plan Arabic
Time
5 min read

By Rahul Bansal,

On this page
  1. What the store must show
  2. Returns, delays and customer data
  3. VAT and e-invoicing
  4. Payments
  5. Arabic and right to left
  6. Working with a team in India
  7. How we can help
  8. Questions people ask
  9. Sources

A store for Saudi customers is built like any other online store, with a few rules that shape the pages, the checkout and the invoices. Settle them in the scope, before design starts, and nothing has to be rebuilt later. We checked each point below against official Saudi sources on 27 October 2026. Rules change, and none of this is legal or tax advice: confirm with your Saudi lawyer and accountant what applies to your business.

What the store must show

The Ministry of Commerce's consumer guide lists what an online store displays:

  • The store's name, address and contact details.
  • Its tax number and, if it has one, its commercial registration, with a link that verifies it on an official platform.
  • How customers complain and how the store responds, with a way to complain online.

Before the customer buys, the store states the terms of the contract: how the order is concluded, who the seller is, what the product is, the total price including all charges and taxes, and the terms for payment, delivery and any warranty (Ministry of Commerce, 2019).

The guide also tells shoppers what to expect from the electronic invoice, so build yours to match: one they can save that will confirm the order and its date, show the full price with delivery and tax, give the delivery date and place, and include the warranty and the return and exchange policy.

Returns, delays and customer data

  • Returns. The E-Commerce Law gives customers 7 days from the contract date to return an item they have not used, with exceptions for some accommodation, transport and catering services.
  • Late delivery. If delivery is more than 15 days late, counted from the purchase or from the delivery date agreed, the customer can cancel and get their money back, unless the delay is caused by force majeure.
  • Customer data. The guide says a store keeps customer data only as long as the sale needs it, does not use it for marketing without permission, and lets customers close their account and stop promotional messages easily.
  • Saudi data protection law. Saudi Arabia also has a Personal Data Protection Law, with registration and guidance on SDAIA's National Data Governance Platform. Ask your lawyer which of its duties apply to you.

For the build, that means an order confirmation and invoice that carry all of this, a returns flow, an account deletion option and a marketing opt-in that is off until the customer turns it on.

VAT and e-invoicing

  • VAT is 15%. That is the standard rate in ZATCA's current guidance (ZATCA is the tax authority). The consumer guide asks for prices to be shown with VAT included.
  • E-invoicing, phase 1. Since 4 December 2021, VAT taxpayers resident in the Kingdom, and anyone issuing tax invoices for them, must generate and store tax invoices and notes electronically.
  • E-invoicing, phase 2. From 1 January 2023, in waves by taxpayer group, those e-invoicing solutions must also connect to ZATCA's systems. ZATCA tells each group at least six months before its wave.

Decide in discovery which system issues the tax invoice: the store itself, or the accounting or ERP software your business already uses. Then the store only has to send each order to it.

Payments

mada is Saudi Arabia's national payment network. SAMA, the central bank, allowed banks to enable mada cards for online payments from 1 April 2018, and its rule is that mada card payments at online stores inside the Kingdom go through the mada system. Stores outside the Kingdom take payments through international payment companies.

So before you choose a payment gateway, ask whether it accepts mada cards for a business like yours, which other methods it supports, and how and in which currency it settles.

Arabic and right to left

  • Design both directions from the start. Arabic pages read right to left, so the menu, the arrows and the checkout steps mirror too. Our Gulf guide covers how that is set up in the code.
  • Give each language its own address. Google recommends a separate URL for each language version, with hreflang tags linking them, instead of switching language by cookie.
  • Translate the content, not only the buttons. Google warns that translating only the menus and template around English product text gives people a poor experience.
  • Name who writes and reviews the Arabic, for product pages, emails, invoices and the returns policy.

Working with a team in India

Time zones, weekly reviews and handover are in how a Gulf business works with a team in India.

How we can help

  • Storefronts, catalogues and order workflows, an assessment of payment and delivery integrations, and multilingual, RTL-ready design for businesses across the Middle East. E-commerce for Middle East businesses.
  • For The Healing Pouch, which places workers from India with employers in Qatar and the GCC, we built the website, the applicant and employer app, a staff admin and the API. See the build.

Questions people ask

Can the store be in English and Arabic?

Yes. We design for both languages and right-to-left layouts when Arabic content and review are part of the project scope. Plan who writes and checks the Arabic before design starts.

Does every store need ZATCA e-invoicing?

ZATCA's rules apply to VAT taxpayers resident in the Kingdom and to anyone issuing tax invoices on their behalf. Whether and when they apply to you depends on your registration and your Phase 2 wave, so confirm it with your tax adviser before the build.

Does Round Robin have an office in Saudi Arabia?

No. We are a Delhi-based team working remotely with businesses across the Middle East, with written scopes, scheduled demos and a production handover.

Which payment gateway should we use?

It depends on your company, your bank and your products. We read each provider's documentation, settlement terms and supported markets during discovery, then scope the integrations that work for you.

Sources

  1. Saudi Ministry of Commerce: Guide to Consumer Rights and Responsibilities 2023 (chapters 1 and 4)Checked 27 October 2026
  2. Saudi Ministry of Commerce: The services provided online are covered by the E-Commerce System (10 July 2019)Checked 27 October 2026
  3. ZATCA: Guideline on professional services under VAT provisions (third version, May 2026)Checked 27 October 2026
  4. ZATCA: E-invoicing roll-out phasesChecked 27 October 2026
  5. SAMA Rulebook: Use of mada bank cards for buying products through the internetChecked 27 October 2026
  6. SDAIA: National Data Governance Platform (Personal Data Protection Law)Checked 27 October 2026
  7. Google Search Central: Managing multi-regional and multilingual sitesChecked 27 October 2026

Other companies change their prices and fees. Check the source before you rely on a figure.

Planning a store for Saudi customers?

Tell us what you sell and where you deliver. We reply within one working day.

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