Saudi Arabia’s E-Commerce Registrations Jump 25% in Q3 2026 as Online Business Gains Momentum

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Saudi Arabia's E-Commerce Registrations Climb 25% in Q3 2026

Saudi Arabia’s online business boom shows no sign of slowing. Active e-commerce registrations jumped 25% in a year, and Riyadh leads the pack.

Driving the news: The Ministry of Commerce announced that active e-commerce commercial registrations rose 25% by the end of Q3 2026. The comparison covers the same period in 2025. According to an official ministry statement, registrations climbed from 41,682 to 52,259. That adds more than 10,500 registrations in just 12 months.

Why it matters: The figures show how quickly Saudi entrepreneurs are moving online. Moreover, they confirm that digital retail now anchors the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 push to diversify the economy beyond oil.

Riyadh Leads the Regional Race

Zoom in: Riyadh region ranks first with 23,061 active e-commerce registrations. Makkah region follows with 13,177, while the Eastern Province takes third place with 7,792. Madinah region ranks fourth with 2,198 registrations. Qassim region completes the top five with 1,659.

Together, these five regions hold the largest share of the Kingdom’s e-commerce registrations. Riyadh alone accounts for about 44% of the national total. Earlier ministry data put the capital region at 19,062 registrations in Q3 2025, so it grew about 21% in a year. Qassim kept pace with roughly 20% growth over the same period.

By the numbers:

25%: growth in active e-commerce registrations, Q3 2026 versus Q3 2025.
52,259: active registrations at the end of Q3 2026, up from 41,682.
10,500+: registrations added in one year.
3,762: registrations added between Q2 and Q3 2026.
Regional ranking: Riyadh 23,061; Makkah 13,177; Eastern Province 7,792; Madinah 2,198; Qassim 1,659.
About 44%: Riyadh’s share of national e-commerce registrations.
85%: share of retail payments made electronically in 2025, up from 79% in 2024.
6 billion: electronic transactions in 2025, versus 12.6 billion in 2024.
SAR 101.4bn ($27.04bn): mada e-commerce sales in Q2 2026, up 3.1% on Q1’s SAR 98.3bn ($26.21bn).
SAR 37.6bn ($10.03bn): mada e-commerce sales in July 2026.
SAR 197.42bn ($52.64bn): mada e-commerce sales in 2024, up 25.82% on the year.
12% to 14%: Kearney’s forecast for annual market growth over the next five years

A Trend That Keeps Building

The Q3 result extends a clear upward trend. Registrations stood at 45,669 in Q1 2026, a 9% rise on the year. They then reached 48,497 in Q2, up 23%. As a result, the sector added another 3,762 registrations in Q3 alone.

Meanwhile, related sectors show similar energy. Logistics registrations rose 25% to 29,856 in Q2 2026, according to the ministry’s quarterly report. In addition, the ministry has said the Kingdom ranks among the ten fastest-growing e-commerce markets worldwide.

The wider business sector is expanding too. Total commercial registrations now top 1.9 million. Furthermore, AI-related activities grew 31% to more than 24,000 registrations, which shows how fast digital sectors are multiplying.

Shoppers fuel the shift as well. The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) reports that electronic payments made up 85% of retail payments in 2025, up from 79% in 2024. Electronic transactions reached 14.6 billion, compared with 12.6 billion a year earlier. In turn, that gives new online merchants a ready base of digital payers.

Spending data backs this up. E-commerce sales on mada cards reached SAR 101.4bn ($27.04bn) in Q2 2026, according to SAMA’s monthly bulletin. July alone brought in SAR 37.6bn ($10.03bn).

The big picture: Analysts see plenty of room to run. A Kearney partner told Arab News that the Kingdom’s young, tech-savvy population embraces online retail enthusiastically. He forecast annual market growth of 12% to 14% over the next five years. He also noted that online shopping lifts demand for warehousing, delivery, digital payments and tech startups. Consequently, the benefits reach well beyond retailers.

What’s next: Expect more entrepreneurs to open digital storefronts as these supporting industries mature. Meanwhile, the ministry continues to promote the sector under the National Transformation Program, which backs Vision 2030 goals. Therefore, the next quarterly bulletin will show whether registrations can keep their double-digit pace.

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