Saudi Arabia has a strong regional identity deeply rooted in culture and tradition. But it is also a fantastic market for upcoming e-commerce brands. From clothes, accessories, and handmade décor items to priceless art pieces, the region is steadily becoming one of the most promising markets.

One of the fastest-growing commercial markets is selling clothes or perfumes online in Saudi Arabia. The perfume market was estimated to be $2049.7 million in 2021, and experts speculate a 6.1% growth in this decade.

Additionally, the apparel industry has undergone a tremendous boom in the past few years. Standing at $13.8 billion, of which the women’s clothing segment made up 38.6% of the market size, the apparel industry promises fantastic E-commerce returns.

So, now is the time to reap the benefits and sell online. Before that, here are a few things to keep in mind, both from the perspective of e-commerce and the products you want to sell.

What To Know Before You Sell Clothes Online In Saudi Arabia

Given that women usually wear the abaya in public, most people may think there will be limited fashionable clothing in this region. But, they are in for a pleasant surprise. The median age of the population is significantly young – about 29 years – and there has been a monumental shift in the way the younger generation is opting to dress while still maintaining the cultural mandates.

Numerous brands, whether they are big establishments or small individual sellers, found overnight success in the region and paved the way for other e-commerce brands to join forces. However, it is important to understand that this is still a shifting market. Therefore, you may have to consciously display your clothing line following the current regional and cultural flavour.

What To Know Before You Sell Perfumes Online In Saudi Arabia

One of the biggest challenges faced by the retailers that sell perfumes online is the alcohol content. More and more consumers are taking an eco-friendly approach and preferring organic ingredients in their fragrances to avoid the harmful effects of chemicals and be more environmentally conscious. Hence, there is a huge demand for organic perfumes too. Therefore, stock up on both options of alcohol-based and non-alcohol-based perfumes.

How To Sell Perfume & Clothes Online In Saudi Arabia: The Essence Of eCommerce Success

Have A Strategy

Running an e-commerce business isn’t difficult, but it does call for some preliminary framework. You must have a set of estimates around the product inventory, pricing strategy, shipping cost, shipment tracking, and the various sites where you can display your product.

Pros & Cons Of eCommerce

The various pros include lower business set-up costs, higher customer reach, affordable advertising, and 24/7 operations. However, there are cons, like the logistics cost, a higher chance of payment fraud, and higher competition.

Assess The Strengths Of Your Business

 It is integral to figure out your business’ USP. What competitive advantage do you offer that others in the digital space do not? Is it your handmade products? Is it your pricing advantage? Is it the availability of foreign brands? Once you know the speciality you offer, it will soon become your biggest marketing strength.

Assess The Right eCommerce Site

Where do you want your products displayed? Amazon, Haraj.com.sa, and Souq.com are some popular e-commerce sites in Saudi Arabia. These have a fantastic reach already, and thereby, can bring in ready customers without you spending a lot on the preliminary advertisement.

If you want to display your digital store, whether it is via a full-fledged website or through social media apps, have a marketing strategy ready. Also, be mindful that getting traction on these may take time. Hence, that must be factored into the strategy while drafting it. Divide your one-year growth plan into phases: creating awareness, nudging customers, sales-oriented processes, and building customer retention.

Competition From Foreign Brands

One thing to also note is that since 2016, the Saudi Arabian Government’s liberalization rule allows complete foreign ownership of businesses. This has done away with the need for the 25% local ownership that was mandatory earlier. So, with foreign brands also entering the market, you have a higher list of competitors – both local and foreign vendors. Do a thorough market and competitor research before drafting your marketing strategy.

Assess The Marketing Phase

A solid marketing plan is crucial for making the most returns on your e-commerce business. However, it’s also essential to understand which phase of marketing your customer segment conforms to. Is your product a one-of-its-kind new invention? For instance, while clothes and perfumes are largely sold in the digital space, your product may have a different take on it. Maybe these are locally sourced and handcrafted organic clothes or non-alcoholic perfumes that are a close dupe of popular ones. So, you are then at the awareness stage, where you first need to make your customers aware of your product. Then comes the phase of employing market strategies to create your first round of customers, followed by the phase where you must aim to build customer patronage.

Make Your Site For Mobiles

Statistics suggest that 57.2% of online shoppers browse and purchase through mobile phones. This number is only projected to increase. Nowadays, smartphones have become the one-stop shop for everything – hence, you must optimize your e-commerce site for mobiles to reach customers directly where they are readily accessible. This may call for some extra investment, but it is worth it. Too many shoppers get frustrated with slow-loading mobile versions of websites, and you may miss out on good sales.

Leverage Social Media Apps To Promote & Sell

Social media has taken the world by storm, with numerous micro-sites popping up on these apps where buyers can directly make a purchase. Besides ensuring that you have a social media store for your business, you must also understand the marketing power of these apps. Social media apps, such as Instagram and TikTok, can rope in a huge chunk of clients. Collaborating with influencers and cross-selling with other brands too have huge dividends. Besides an overarching marketing strategy, it will be fruitful for you to also devise a separate social media strategy which is aligned with the brand marketing strategy’s objectives.

Post-Sales Services

The cost of customer acquisition is higher than that of customer retention. However, exceptional and strategic post-sales services can help you retain more customers and increase sales. These include services like addressing queries quickly, ironing out issues, offering a token amount in case of an unfortunate incident, and providing special discounts and early bird offers to repeat customers. Additionally, in today’s digital-first world, customers can be super quick to leave a distasteful review, sometimes even out of spite, which can damage your business’ reputation. So, it is imperative to up your post-sales services and create exceptional customer experiences.

At The End

Hope these tips will help you in your new venture to sell clothes and perfumes online. Armed with these expert-recommended tips, you will surely be able to not just launch your business but also skyrocket it to massive success. Good luck!