If you sell online in Pakistan, you need numbers — your numbers, the market's numbers, and the gap between them. This guide pulls together the most-cited Pakistan ecommerce statistics for 2026, sourced from State Bank reports, PTA data, JazzCash and Easypaisa public disclosures, and primary research with Pakistani sellers.
Market size at a glance
- Total Pakistan ecommerce GMV (2025): roughly USD 6.5–7 billion (PKR ~1.8 trillion at average FX), per State Bank ecommerce data and industry estimates.
- Year-on-year growth: ~25–30%, outpacing every other retail channel.
- Active online buyers: 25–30 million Pakistanis, mostly aged 18–34.
- Active sellers: 200,000+ sellers across Daraz, own-store, Instagram, and Facebook combined.
- Mobile share of orders: 80%+ — Pakistani ecommerce is mobile-first by default.
Payment method breakdown
This is the number every new Pakistani seller asks first: how do customers actually pay?
- Cash on Delivery (COD): 55–65% of orders. Down from 75%+ in 2022 but still dominant.
- JazzCash: 12–18% of orders.
- Easypaisa: 8–12%.
- Cards (Visa/Mastercard via Safepay): 5–10%.
- Bank transfer / IBFT: 3–7%.
Two implications:
- If your store does not accept Cash on Delivery, you lose more than half the addressable market.
- Mobile wallets combined (JazzCash + Easypaisa) now exceed card share by 3–4x. A store that supports JazzCash and Easypaisa natively (the way WoBooks does) converts materially better than one that only takes cards.
COD return rate
Cash on Delivery is dominant, but it has a cost — the return rate is structurally higher than prepaid orders.
- Average COD return rate: 12–18% of orders are refused at the door or returned undelivered.
- By category: fashion 18–25%, electronics 8–12%, beauty 12–18%, books 6–10%.
- Best practice: charge a small COD surcharge (PKR 50–100), require a deposit on high-AOV orders, and use a deliverability-screening tool. We covered specific tactics in our COD-fraud post.
Top ecommerce categories by GMV
- Fashion and apparel: ~30% of total ecommerce GMV. Driven by lawn, pret, and bridal.
- Electronics and mobiles: ~22%. High AOV, lower order volume.
- Beauty and personal care: ~12%. Fastest growing, especially halal and indie brands.
- Home and lifestyle: ~10%.
- Groceries and FMCG: ~8%, driven by PandaMart, Cheetay, and direct-from-kiryana stores.
- Books and stationery: ~5%, peaking in August school season.
- Other (jewellery, sports, baby, etc.): ~13%.
City-level distribution
- Karachi: ~28% of total online orders (highest absolute volume).
- Lahore: ~24%.
- Islamabad / Rawalpindi: ~14%.
- Faisalabad: ~6%.
- Multan: ~4%.
- Other 200+ cities and towns: ~24% combined.
The "other 24%" is the most under-served slice of the Pakistani ecommerce market. A seller who sets up reliable shipping to second-tier cities (Sialkot, Gujranwala, Hyderabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Abbottabad) wins customers who have very few alternatives locally.
Seller demographics
- Solo / home-based sellers: ~60% of Pakistani online sellers operate from home, often female-led.
- Small registered businesses (1–5 employees): ~30%.
- Mid-size and enterprise: ~10%.
- FBR-registered: only about 35% of online sellers are sales-tax registered, though this is rising rapidly with FBR enforcement.
Ad spend benchmarks
- Meta (Facebook + Instagram) ads: 70%+ of Pakistani ecommerce ad spend.
- Google ads: 15–20%.
- TikTok ads: 8–12% (rising fast through 2026).
- YouTube influencer + TikTok creator deals: ~5% but high-ROI for fashion and beauty.
- Average CPM on Meta in PK: PKR 80–200 depending on category.
Cited sources
- State Bank of Pakistan — quarterly ecommerce payments report.
- Pakistan Telecommunication Authority — mobile and broadband adoption data.
- PASHA — IT industry and ecommerce reports.
- WoBooks Pakistan Ecommerce Report 2026 — our own primary research with 500+ Pakistani sellers.
What this means for sellers
Three takeaways:
- Build for mobile-first, COD-default, mobile-wallet-second. If your checkout does not handle these three perfectly, you leave money on the table.
- Second-tier cities are the growth frontier. Setting up reliable courier coverage to Sialkot, Hyderabad, Peshawar pays back in 2–3 months for most categories.
- The 35% FBR-registered figure is rising fast. If you are doing PKR 1M+/month in revenue and not FBR-registered yet, plan for it within 6 months — it is becoming table stakes for serious payment-gateway approval.
WoBooks is built around all three of these realities: native JazzCash + Easypaisa + COD checkout, multi-zone shipping for second-tier cities, and FBR-formatted receipts. Start a free store to put your business on this stack.