Basic Introduction

Souq was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Dubai. It is the largest e-commerce platform in the Middle East. Some people call it the "Amazon of the Middle East". Last year, it was acquired by Amazon and became a subsidiary of Amazon, known as the "Amazon of the Middle East". Now, it is clearly stated on the Souq website that it is an Amazon company, and there is a special Amazon Global Store entrance. In the Amazon Global Store, Middle Eastern users can buy products from other Amazon websites.

Main Sites

UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait.

Entry requirements

1. Local business license

2. Apply for a local mobile phone number and email address.

3. A local bank account is required for receiving payment

4. Provide local shipping address

Registration Form

If you want to register a Souq seller account, there are currently 2 ways:

1) Provide a scanned copy of the seller's UAE business license, UAE bank account (company account with the same information as the business license, or personal account of the legal person on the license), contact email and mobile phone number. Send the above information to the Souq investment manager's email address to open a Souq seller account for free. Please note that the Souq investment manager's email address has the domain name "amazon.com" as the suffix.

2) Open an account through an authorized agent of Souq. Souq has officially authorized several agents to open accounts, mainly FBS (Fulfillment by Souq) logistics carriers recommended by the Souq platform. Sellers use the UAE business license and bank card of the agent to open an account, and are exempt from account opening fees (mainly for continuous binding of logistics cooperation). The information provided includes contact person, phone number, email, domestic business license, e-commerce platform that has been settled in, and links to self-operated independent websites, etc.

3) After the seller account is generated, the registered email address will receive an activation link. The seller clicks the link, resets the password, and sets the store name, bank account number, VAT number and other information in the seller interface. Once the store name is set, it cannot be changed later. The bank account number and VAT number must be consistent with the business license information. Accounts registered through account opening agents use the information provided by the account opening agent.

Platform seller rights

1. The platform is free and open, and you only need to pay a certain fee after the goods are sold.

2. Marketing support:

a. Push product information to thousands of users every week;

b. Occasional special promotions;

c. Radio advertising and sponsorship support

3. Logistics support

4. Secure payment platform

Advantages

Souq.com has a very high brand awareness among e-commerce users, with huge platform traffic, attracting more than 230,000 visitors per month, and developing a large number of online users at a very fast speed. At the same time, the souq.com platform also has the largest number of sellers and categories in the Arab region, and all market infrastructure has been localized. The platform will also carry out various online and offline marketing activities from time to time to attract consumers.

1. New shopping experience

Middle Eastern consumers can shop by visiting the app or logging on to the new website (Amazon.ae). Both the app and the website will provide a fast and rich browsing experience, accurate search results, trusted product reviews, personalized recommendations and convenient order management.

2. Convenient payment and language localization

A fully localized and easy experience, consumers can order their favorite products directly in the UAE currency Dirham (AED), through local and international credit cards or cash on delivery (COD) settlement. At the same time, for the first time ever, Amazon has introduced Arabic in both mobile apps and websites to meet consumers who prefer to shop in Arabic.

3. Excellent delivery experience

Customers shopping on Amazon.ae will continue to enjoy free next-day delivery for orders over AED 100 and same-day delivery in select areas of the UAE. Amazon’s global expertise in logistics will provide accurate delivery and shipment tracking, and it will continue to invest in improving the delivery experience.

4. Amazon’s diversified global store solutions

Thousands of businesses that previously sold on Souq can continue to sell on Amazon.ae in the Middle East. Businesses of all sizes can sell their products on Amazon.ae and use convenient product upload tools, secure payment processes, and product promotion features to help them reach consumers, as well as simplified delivery solutions using Amazon Logistics (FBA). All aspiring businesses, regardless of their level of experience or business knowledge, can use the Amazon resources, products, and tools they need to grow their business.

develop

In March 2016, the Middle East e-commerce platform Souq received an investment of US$275 million from investors including Tiger Global, Naspers, the multinational media group and the largest shareholder of Tencent, as well as Standard Chartered Private Equity Fund, IFC (one of the World Bank's subsidiaries), and Baidu's second largest shareholder.

On March 28, 2017, Amazon confirmed that it would acquire Souq.com for $580 million.

In July 2020, Amazon officially launched Amazon.sa in the Middle East. After the launch of Amazon.sa in the Middle East, all customer credentials, shopping wish lists, orders, delivery addresses, payment methods, customer support inquiries and other information on the original Souq website will be transferred to the new Amazon.sa account. At the same time, Amazon will continue to increase investment to improve the delivery experience of Saudi customers and provide accurate delivery and cargo tracking services.

evaluate

Souq.com is the most successful e-commerce platform in the Middle East and is known as the "Amazon of the Middle East"

References

• 1. Advantages of opening a Souq store: Sohu.com [cited on 2018-03-10T16:00:00.000Z]
• 2. Amazon's acquisition of Souq: Document official website [reference date 2018-03-10T16:00:00.000Z]
• 3. Amazon Middle East Site Souq Store Opening Guide: Bangyue.com [Reference Date 2018-12-22T16:00:00.000Z]
• 4. Comments on Souq: Inc official website [reference date 2018-03-10T16:00:00.000Z]
• 5. Guide to entering the Middle East platform SOUQ! : Bangyue.com [cited on 2018-08-27T16:00:00.000Z]