Recent research shows that the e-commerce industry is booming in Pakistan and growing three times faster than any traditional business. As the trend of online shopping is increasing rapidly across Pakistan. It’s the right time to start an online store and step your foot into this emerging e-commerce business. This will also give you a competitive edge against your competitors and will also provide you the opportunity to expand your business visibility throughout Pakistan and across the globe.
This article is a good starting point if you are thinking to increase your online sales through an ecommerce website. Here we will explain
1. Brief history of online businesses in Pakistan
2. Why it’s an ideal time to get into online store or ecommerce business
3. How much it cost to design an online store in Pakistan
4. What your need to consider before going online

The e-commerce market in Pakistan has been there for past 21 years. The 1st Pakistani online store Beliscity was started back in 2001 – this store no longer exists today. Pak Wheels – Now the top website in vehicle sale purchase category, was started in 2003. RozeePK was started as a side project of Naseeb Networks in 2006. Zameen.com was started up in 2007. Other early online entrants such as Shophive (2005), Symbios Pakistan(2006), and HomeShopping( 2008) where started more than a decade ago and are now capturing huge online market share in their respective categories. OLX is the first Pakistani foreign entrant that started its operation in 2010. In 2012 Rocket Internet entered the Pakistani market and launched three ventures as Azmalo, Daraz, and FoodPanda. After some time, Azmalo re-envisioned as a drop-shipment site and changed its name to Kaymu. Other global start-ups like Careem and Uber were started in 2015 and 2016 respectively in the ride hiring category. Local players like Bykea and Cheetay also joined them quickly.

According to several studies, online retail sales were 18% of total sales in the year 2018 in Pakistan. It is estimated that by 2040, 95% of all retail sales and purchases will be made through an online medium in Pakistan. I hope you would be super excited to own your online store after reading this. But lets see how much an average ecommerce website development costs in Pakistan.

The cost of an average eCommerce website depends on many factors like its website design, features, payment gateways, and other integrations. Also, custom website development cost more than a template-based website.
You must know how much an E-commerce website really costs, otherwise, you may lose your hard earn money due to overspending.
According to our estimate, the cost of a fully functional eCommerce website could vary between PKR 39000/- to PKR 76000/- depending upon your brand, the efforts required, and the website framework you choose.
Here is a breakdown of the overall cost of an e-commerce website in Pakistan with respect to the development framework and resources you choose.

Now that you know how much it costs to build a professional eCommerce website within Pakistan. Let’s investigate another important aspect before hiring a web development expert.

Before developing your eCommerce website, please consider the following aspects as this factor plays an important role in the success of your eCommerce website.

• Domain name: You must register a domain name for your website. A good domain name is the one that is short and easy to remember. It’s cost between PKR 1500 to PKR 2500 to register a domain name in Pakistan. We recommend .com and .pk domain names if you want to target the Pakistani market only. Although through .com you can target international clients as well.

• Web hosting: Web Hosting is essential to hosting your business website on the internet. Web hosting is a process where you place your newly developed website so that it is available to your customer 24/7 throughout the year. As your website need to be fast and secure you need to choose a good hosting company with reputable customer support. Check reviews and feedback of your hosting provider before ordering your web hosting. Normally good hosting costs you between PKR 4000 to PKR 15000 annually depending upon your website type, traffic, and back and support you need. Please never compromise on the quality the of web hosting services as cheap hosting may cause interruptions and issue like poor customer response and maintaining quality.

• SSL certificate: Configuring and installing an SSL certificate to your newly developed website has several advantages. This certificate not only enables a secure connection between your website and your web browse but also helps in getting a higher ranking in your Search Engine Optimization efforts. The SSL certificate cost between 1000 and 3000 rupees depending upon the type of SSL certificate you choose.

• Maintenance:  Website support and maintenance is another factor that you should consider before launching your Most website development companies offer a one, three, or six-month free post website support and maintenance. These web development firms take responsibility for fixing any bugs pointed out during this period. However, developing new features is not included in this free maintenance and support. So, it’s a good idea to discuss post web development costs for the development of any new features on your website.

Our estimate is 70% to 75% of online orders in Pakistan are based on Cash on delivery (CAD). For the remaining 30% of orders you must decide the payment method to receive online payments. Currently, MCB, UBL, HBL, and Bank Alfalah are providing credit card merchant accounts in Pakistan. For local payments, other payment options like Easypay, JazzCash, ARY Sahulat cards are available. For international payments, PayPal, Stripe, 2CO are common gateways in Pakistan.

After deciding on payment options, you have to select a logistics partner for product delivery both at the local and international levels. TCS, Leopard, Call Courier, M&P can be good options for local delivery in Pakistan. DHL is a good option for international deliveries.
We hope this article would have helped you in better understanding the future of the online industry in Pakistan. Please feel to contact us if you have any questions regarding this article or you have a question regarding your online store.

The price of a fully functional eCommerce website for a new business could vary from PKR 39000/- to PRK 76000/-. However, depending upon your web development framework, quality of work required, and size of your business, this cost could escalate up to PKR 700000/-