Running a store: payments, delivery and metrics
A successful store is more than a pretty front end. Three operations must run flawlessly behind it:
| Payments | A payment gateway connects the store to banks and card networks. In Saudi Arabia customers expect mada and Apple Pay, and many use buy-now-pay-later services such as Tamara and Tabby. The store doesn't keep card data itself: the gateway handles it under the PCI DSS standard. |
| Fulfilment | Picking in the warehouse, the carrier, the “last mile” to the door, and tracking. Returns are part of the experience too. |
| Customer service | Handling questions and complaints, often via WhatsApp and chat. |
| Metric | Formula | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion rate | Orders ÷ visits | How many visitors bought? |
| Average order value (AOV) | Revenue ÷ orders | How much per order? |
| Cart abandonment | Abandoned carts ÷ carts created | Where do we lose buyers before paying? |
| Customer acquisition cost (CAC) | Marketing spend ÷ new customers | What does a new customer cost? |
| Customer lifetime value (CLV) | Average profit from a customer over the relationship | Is it worth spending to win them? |
Watch outA healthy store needs customer lifetime value well above acquisition cost. If a customer costs 50 SAR in marketing and earns you only 30 over their lifetime, every new customer loses money.