In simple words, the UAE has lots of people using the internet, so it’s a great place to start an online store in Dubai. The UAE is the biggest market for selling stuff to regular people online. Dubai is the leader in online shopping in the Gulf area, with most online shoppers living there. Because of this, many foreign investors are thinking about starting an online store in Dubai.
Dubai’s online shopping business is growing, and they have good tools for promoting online businesses & ecommerce web development. If you are wondering how to start ecommerce business in Dubai, then this guide will be helpful for you.
9 Steps to Help You Start an Online Store in Dubai
Learn About the Market
First, understand the market in Dubai. This means figuring out what people want to buy online, what kind of business you want to run (like selling to other businesses, regular people, or having people sell to you), and what makes your business special.
Doing some research about your customers is the best way to really know what they want and expect from your business. And don’t worry, you don’t need to be a big company with a ton of money for this.
You can use your Wi-Fi-connected smartphone for it! It doesn’t cost a lot of money. Just look at the many online tools and see if there's a group of people who have a problem but can’t find a good solution.
Decide Where to Register Your Business and Find an Office
After you’ve chosen Dubai, there are two more important decisions to make: where to register your business and where to set up your office. When it comes to picking a place to register your business in Dubai, you have two main options: Dubai Mainland and Dubai Free Zone.
To make the right choice, think about what your business needs in the long run. These are the ecommerce web design dubai requirements that you need to know about.
Go for the one that matches what you want to sell. Once you’re sure about the place, it’s time to find the right place for your office and get the paperwork like the tenancy contract and EJARI certificate ready. If you need help with these decisions, a business service provider in Dubai like us can assist you.
Choose a Good Location
Where you set up your ecommerce business in Dubai is really important. But the good news is, you don’t need a physical office there. Ecommerce business in Dubai for foreigners requires them to choose a good location.
If you go with a Free Zone, you get cool benefits like not having to pay income tax, being able to take all your profits, no corporate tax, owning your business 100%, and low customs duties. If you pick Mainland, you can run both international and local businesses officially.
Register Your Company’s Name To give your business a name, just fill out a form given by the Economic Department in the UAE. Make
sure the name you choose is okay in Dubai, and don’t use any bad, religious, or tricky words in it.
Also, don’t use a name that’s already used by another company in Dubai. If you name your company after a person, use their full name.
Apply for an E-commerce License in Dubai
Online business in Dubai without investment requires you to contact the Department of Economic Development group that gives out this special license. This license lets you do many different business things on social media.
If you have a free zone license, you can work with a local distributor. But if you have a mainland license, you can start selling things directly to local people.
Create Your E-commerce Website
When you’re starting an online store in Dubai, it's super important to have a website that works well and is safe for your customers. First, get a website address. Many people wonder how to start ecommerce business in Dubai? You can easily make your website using online tools that don’t need any fancy coding skills.
Set Up a Way for People to Pay
To let customers, pay on your website, you need a special account from your local bank or a payment company. In the UAE, the people who make sure everything is okay with online transactions are called the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).
You have to set up payment tools that work well and follow TRA rules. Also, make sure the place where you made your website has customer support all the time, especially when there are payment problems.
Support Your Customers and Deliver Orders
To run a successful e-commerce business in UAE you must know how to deal with the technical stuff and databases. Moving things in and out of the country is really important for your business to survive. In Dubai, you can either do all this yourself or get help from another company that handles the moving part for you.
Get a Business Bank Account
Even if you have your business license and website ready, you can’t really start your business until you have a special bank account for your company in the UAE. The steps to open this bank account are straightforward. To run the best ecommerce business in Dubai you must get a business account.
A good idea to get help from a trusted business setup service in Dubai to make sure you follow all the rules and get it done right. Sometimes, it can be confusing for entrepreneurs who are not familiar with the process in a foreign country, so having some help is a good idea.
Promote Your Products or Services
When your business is all set and ready to go, the most important thing left is how you tell people about it. The best way is to focus on the right group of people who would be interested in what you’re selling.
As multiple ways to promote your business, few are free and others are paid. You can freely promote by various social media and business directories and also you can run ads for your product and get the sale.
Final Thoughts
So, create a good plan to talk about your products or services in a way that matches what these people need. How to start e commerce business in Dubai? These are some of the things to think about before you start an online business in the UAE.
