Saudi Arabia plans to expand national e-commerce

Saudi Arabia seeks to diversify its economy beyond primarily oil and gas exports and now intends to build an expansive national and international ecommerce market.

The size of the Saudi B2C market is expected to reach $70 billion by next year and is expected to account for about 12% of the country’s gross domestic product.

According to The General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monsha’at), a government agency in the kingdom, e-commerce is booming as the second-highest venture capital-funded sector in Saudi Arabia, but there’s still room for growth. Compared to leading markets, where online sales account for 18% of retail, ecommerce is relatively untapped in this country.

The number of Saudi Arabia ecommerce patrons will total 34.5 million by 2025.

There are 42,900 online stores and 191 shipping and delivery services providers.

The number of fulfillment centers totals 14,000.

Venture capitalists invested $428 million in Saudi Arabia ecommerce business ventures in 2023.

35% of all products were global imports.

Muhannad Al-Mulhim, a consultant with the Ministry of Commerce said that traditional sectors still have significant opportunities to transition fully or partially to e-commerce models. There are also numerous opportunities when it comes to automation and artificial intelligence (AI).