How to start an ecommerce business in Pakistan (2026)

How to start an ecommerce business in Pakistan: the short version

To start an ecommerce business in Pakistan, keep enough cash for stock and for the wait on COD money, pick a small range that survives delivery costs, get your NTN, open a courier account, then create your online store and confirm every order before it ships. Spend on stock and photos before you spend on a website.

1. Choose whether you hold stock, make to order or use a supplier.
2. Pick products that still pay after delivery and returns.
3. Get your NTN, which for an individual is your CNIC number.
4. Open a courier account and set your delivery charge.
5. Create your online store and add your products.
6. Pick a name, and a web address if you want one now.
7. Add delivery, returns, contact and privacy pages.
8. Turn on cash on delivery, then wallets and cards.
9. Decide how you will confirm each order.
10. Place a test order from your own phone.
11. Launch, and handle the first orders yourself.

How much investment you need

You can start with about Rs 10,000 if you make to order, and Rs 50,000 is enough for a small stocked range. These three budgets are example numbers for your own plan, not market prices.

Two lines surprise new sellers. The cash line exists because COD money reaches you only after the courier’s payment cycle, so you buy the next batch before the last one has paid; see how the COD payment cycle works. The refused-parcels line pays delivery on parcels that come back. Ask each courier about any account fee and budget it here. The store row is free on Lite; paid plans start from Rs 1,000 a month billed yearly, so keep that in your cash line if you upgrade.

For a line-by-line plan at Rs 50,000, see a business with 50000 in Pakistan. For the made-to-order route with an advance, see how to start an online business without investment.

Where a first budget goes wrong

Most first budgets run out for one of six reasons, and each is cheaper to avoid than to fix:

• Spending on a website before stock, photos and a cash buffer.
• Too many products at once. Thirty designs in four sizes is 120 stock lines to keep right.
• Pricing without delivery, returns and the 2% COD tax (step 3). The margin you see is not the margin you keep.
• Booking without confirming. Every unconfirmed parcel that comes back costs delivery twice.
• Forgetting the cash gap. COD money arrives after the courier’s cycle, not on delivery day.
• Using another brand’s photos. Buyers notice, and the real piece at the door invites a refusal.

1. Choose how you will stock it

Your budget decides this before anything else. Rs 10,000 points to making to order; Rs 50,000 can carry a small stocked range. Each route has one cost to know before you pick it.

• Make to order: stitching, printing, resin, baking. No stock, and an advance can cover the material. Delivery takes longer, and a refused custom piece is hard to resell. See the t-shirt printing business for one example.
• Mixed: stock your two or three best sellers and take the rest to order. Your cash stays free without running out of what sells.
• Hold stock: you check quality and ship the same day. Your cash sits in unsold sizes until they sell.
• Dropshipping: a supplier ships to your buyer and you keep the margin. You do not control packing, speed or quality, and margins are thin. Read dropshipping in Pakistan first.

2. Pick products that survive delivery

Sell something you can buy or make again next month at the same cost, that survives a courier, and that leaves money after delivery and returns. Lawn and pret, jewellery, shoes, skincare and kids’ clothes all sell on cash on delivery here; what matters is whether your version of them pays.

Run each idea through four checks before you buy stock:

• Margin after delivery. Put the price, your cost, the delivery charge and a return rate into the COD profit calculator. If a delivered order leaves less than a few hundred rupees, one refused parcel wipes out several sales.
• Weight. On PostEx’s public calculator, 0.5 kg from Karachi to Lahore was Rs 274.05 and 1 kg was Rs 305.37, as of October 2026. Light products keep the courier bill small.
• Repeat supply. A design you cannot restock becomes a sold-out page. Know where your second batch comes from: Azam Cloth Market in Lahore or Jama Cloth in Karachi for fabric, Shah Alam for accessories. Our list of wholesale suppliers in Pakistan has more.
• Return risk. Sizes and colours that look different on screen come back more often. Start with products where a size chart or a close-up photo answers the doubt.

Start with one category and 8–15 designs. For ideas, see what to sell online in Pakistan and our online business ideas. To set prices that cover all of this, read how to price products.

3. Get your NTN before the courier asks

Get your NTN before you open a courier account. For an individual it is done online, and FBR’s registration page says your 13-digit CNIC number is used as your NTN once you e-enrol on its IRIS portal. The page lists no fee.

It matters now because of FBR’s Income Tax Circular 01 of 2025–26. It says every online seller is required to register for income tax, and that couriers and marketplaces are barred from offering their services to unregistered sellers. Tax also comes off every sale: FBR’s withholding tax rate card has the courier deduct 2% of the gross amount on COD and the bank or gateway 1% of online payments if you are on the Active Taxpayers List, and 4% and 2% if you are not. Price that 2% into every order.

Open a bank account you use only for the store, so courier payments and costs are easy to follow. A company, a partnership or a sales tax number depends on your setup; our guides to registering an online business and online business tax cover when each applies, and how to get an NTN (in Urdu) walks through IRIS.

4. Open a courier account and set your delivery charge

Open accounts with one or two couriers that reach your buyers’ cities and pay COD money back on a cycle you can live with. Do it before you build the store, because the delivery charge you set there comes from their rates. PostEx, Leopards, TCS, M&P and Trax all take online sellers.

PostEx publishes a public calculator: as of October 2026 it quoted Rs 156.60 for 0.5 kg within one city and Rs 274.05 from Karachi to Lahore, fuel surcharge and GST included, before the COD fee. Merchant accounts get their own, lower tariff sheet. The other couriers did not publish a rate card we could open, so ask each for theirs. Ask every courier four things:

• What a delivered parcel costs to your top three cities, COD fee included.
• What a refused parcel costs to come back.
• How often they send your COD money, and to which account.
• Whether they pick up from your door, and from what time.

Then set the charge buyers see: either what the courier charges you on an average parcel, or a price that includes delivery with free delivery above an amount. Our guide to delivery charges works through both, and opening a courier COD account (in Urdu) covers sign up. Compare couriers in the courier charges calculator and our guide to the best courier service in Pakistan, and pack to survive the trip with packaging for an online business.

5. Create your online store

You do not need a developer to create an online store, or to make an ecommerce website, in Pakistan. Pick a platform that takes the payments your buyers use, works with your courier, and runs from your phone, then add your products.

Check any platform for these before you sign up:

• Cash on delivery at checkout, and JazzCash, Easypaisa or cards when you want them.
• Prices in rupees, with a delivery fee and free delivery above an amount you set.
• A courier and tracking number on every order, sent to the buyer.
• A bill you can pay without a dollar card, or no bill at all.

Your main choices are your own store, a marketplace, or social media alone. Daraz has no listing fee and takes a commission that depends on the category; weigh it in Daraz vs your own online store. Selling only on Instagram and WhatsApp works for a while, as selling without a website explains, and online selling websites in Pakistan compares every channel. For your own store, compare Shopify vs WooCommerce, the Shopify alternative in Pakistan, and the best ecommerce platform in Pakistan.

Storelala is free on Lite, with paid plans from Rs 1,000 a month billed yearly. You type what you sell, pick a look, add your first piece with a photo, price and sizes, and sign up with Google, all from your phone. If you already sell on Shopify, you can import your products from a Shopify product CSV.

For each product, add:

• Clear photos on a plain background. The white background tool cleans them up, and product photography with a phone (in Urdu) shows how to shoot them.
• Every size and colour as an option, with its own stock.
• A description that answers fabric, size and delivery questions; see how to write product descriptions that sell.
• A size chart for clothes and shoes, from the size chart maker.

6. Pick a name and a web address

Pick a short name that is easy to say on a call and easy to spell in English, and check that the Instagram handle is free. The shop name generator and our store name ideas help you start.

A web address of your own can wait. On Storelala your store goes live at yourbrand.storelala.com from the first day. You can buy yourbrand.com here on any plan, and Core and Grow can connect a .pk or .com you already own, with the store and orders unchanged. A .pk comes from PKNIC, so we can’t sell one. When you buy your own address, as of October 2026:

• .pk: PKNIC’s pricing page lists Rs 2,100 a year for registrants in Pakistan, billed two years at a time. Resellers charged Rs 4,299 for two years at Websouls and Rs 4,499 at HosterPK, which says its price rose from Rs 3,899 on August 1, 2026.
• .com: Rs 2,999 for the first year at Websouls, or Rs 3,430 at HosterPK, renewing there at Rs 3,900.

7. Add the pages every store needs

Buyers who pay on delivery still read your policies before they order, and a card gateway will look at your store when you apply. Add these five:

• Delivery: your charge, any free-delivery amount, the cities you cover and how many days it takes.
• Returns and exchanges: what you take back, within how many days, and who pays delivery.
• Contact: a WhatsApp number, an email and your city.
• About: who you are and what you make or source.
• Privacy: what you do with a buyer’s phone number and address.

The store policy generator drafts the policies, and our guide to a return and exchange policy covers what to promise.

8. Set up payments: cash on delivery first

Turn on cash on delivery first. Add JazzCash, Easypaisa and cards when your buyers ask for them, or from day one if your platform includes them.

• Cash on delivery. The buyer pays the courier, and the courier sends you the money on its payment cycle, less its charges and the 2% tax.
• Wallet transfer by hand. The buyer sends money to your JazzCash or Easypaisa account and you check it before shipping. Fine for a few orders a day, and the usual way to take an advance on a made-to-order piece; see a JazzCash business account (in Urdu).
• A payment gateway. Cards and wallets at checkout, paid to your bank. Safepay’s pricing page listed 2.9% plus Rs 30 per domestic card payment and 1.5% for wallets, with no setup or monthly fee, as of October 2026. Gateways ask for documents before they approve you; see payment gateways in Pakistan.

On a Rs 3,500 order, Safepay’s card fee would be Rs 131.50 and its wallet fee Rs 52.50, before the 1% tax. Cash on delivery has no gateway fee, but the courier’s COD charge and the 2% tax come off instead. On Storelala, buyers choose cash on delivery, JazzCash, Easypaisa or card at checkout.

9. Decide how you confirm orders

Confirm every cash on delivery order with the buyer before you book the courier. Settle how you will do it before the first order arrives: a message or call that checks the item, size, address and total catches mistakes and orders nobody meant to place.

Our order confirmation messages are ready to copy. Fake COD orders and reducing COD returns cover what to do when buyers do not answer or refuse at the door.

On Storelala, new orders wait in the To confirm tab. Before you confirm, you see the buyer’s earlier orders with you and any parcel they turned away. If they want a different size, you change it on the call and the total and stock update together. Mark a parcel Refused and the pieces go back into stock. You book PostEx, Leopards or TCS right from the order screen, and the buyer gets the tracking number on WhatsApp.

10. Place a test order before you launch

Order from your own store the way a buyer would, and check each step:

• Open the store on a phone on mobile data, not Wi-Fi, and time how long the product page takes.
• Add a product in a size, check out, and confirm the total includes the right delivery charge.
• Pay once by each method you offer.
• Check the order reaches you, and the confirmation reaches the buyer’s number.
• Check stock for that size dropped by one.
• Book the parcel to a friend in another city, and follow the tracking until it arrives.
• Tap every link on the delivery, returns and contact pages, and your WhatsApp button.

The WhatsApp order link generator makes a link that opens a chat with your order message filled in.

11. Launch and take your first orders

Launch with a small range, real photos and honest descriptions, and handle the first 20 orders yourself: confirm each one, pack it, and follow it until the cash arrives. Those orders show you which cities refuse, which sizes come back and how long your courier really takes to pay.

Ask your first buyers for a photo and a review once the parcel arrives. Our guides to getting your first customers, selling on Instagram and getting reviews go step by step. Before you pay for ads, work out how much an order can cost you in the ad break-even calculator.

Numbers to watch in month one

Track five numbers from your first order:

• Delivery rate: delivered orders divided by booked orders.
• Refused parcels: how many came back, and why.
• Average order value: sales divided by delivered orders.
• Cost per delivered order: delivery, packing, tax, refused parcels and ads, divided by delivered orders.
• Cash owed: COD money the courier has collected but not yet sent you.

The delivery rate matters most. These are example numbers for one month: 40 orders booked, a Rs 3,500 price that includes delivery, a Rs 1,800 product cost, Rs 300 courier charges each way, Rs 60 packing, the 2% COD tax of Rs 70 on each delivered order, and Rs 6,000 of ads.

Six more refused parcels cut the month’s profit by more than a third, with the same price and the same ads. Run your own numbers in the COD profit calculator, and see how to calculate profit margin for the full method.

Questions sellers ask

How much investment do I need to start an ecommerce business in Pakistan?

In our example budgets, about Rs 10,000 if you make to order and take an advance, and about Rs 50,000 for a small range you keep in stock. A store is free on Lite, with paid plans from Rs 1,000 a month billed yearly. Most of the money goes on stock, packing, and a cash buffer for the days between handing a parcel to the courier and receiving your COD money.

Can I start an online business in Pakistan without investment?

Close to it. Sell something you make to order and take an advance that covers the material, or sell a supplier’s stock with their permission and pay them after delivery. Use a store builder with a free plan and your phone camera. You still need a few thousand rupees for samples, packing and your first deliveries.

Do I need to register my online business in Pakistan?

For income tax, yes. FBR’s Circular 01 of 2025–26 says every online seller must register for income tax, and that couriers and marketplaces are barred from serving unregistered sellers. For an individual, you e-enrol on FBR’s IRIS portal and your 13-digit CNIC number is used as your NTN. FBR’s registration page lists no fee.

How do I create an online store in Pakistan?

Sign up for a store builder such as Storelala, add your products with photos, sizes and prices, set your delivery fee, and go live with cash on delivery. Storelala is free on Lite, with paid plans from Rs 1,000 a month billed yearly, and your store goes live at yourbrand.storelala.com.

Is ecommerce profitable in Pakistan?

It can be, but your delivery rate decides it more than your price does. Work out what each delivered order leaves after product cost, delivery, packing, refused parcels, ads and the 2% tax on COD before you spend more on ads or stock. In the example on this page, a fall from 85% to 70% of orders delivered cuts the month’s profit by more than a third.

Storelala is the Shopify alternative in Pakistan, made for sellers who take cash on delivery and run their store from a phone. It is free on Lite, and paid plans from Rs 1,000 a month billed yearly add JazzCash, Easypaisa and cards. Start your store today.