Shopify is one of the quickest ways to start selling online, but setting up a store in Pakistan works a little differently from the tutorials you’ll find online. Shopify’s own payment system isn’t available here, most customers still prefer cash on delivery, and your courier needs to be connected to the store. This guide walks you through each step, from choosing a plan to your first delivered order.
Key takeaways
- Shopify Payments isn’t available in Pakistan — plan for COD, bank transfer and a third-party payment provider.
- Connect your courier with a Shopify app so bookings and tracking happen inside Shopify.
- Budget for the monthly Shopify plan (billed in USD), domain, theme, apps and courier charges — not just the build.
- To sell abroad, use Shopify Markets for local currencies and set international shipping rates.
Is Shopify a good choice for selling in Pakistan?
For most brands, yes. Shopify is fully hosted, so there are no servers to maintain or security patches to install, the checkout is reliable on mobile, and thousands of apps add features such as reviews, upsells and courier booking. It handles a catalogue of ten products as easily as several thousand, and the same store can sell in Pakistan and abroad.
WooCommerce can be the better fit if you want to avoid a monthly subscription in US dollars, already run a WordPress website, or need full control over hosting and code. Our Shopify vs WooCommerce comparison goes through the trade-offs, and we compare both with every client on our e-commerce development projects.
Step 1: Choose your Shopify plan and set up your account
Start with Shopify’s free trial to build and test the store before you pay. Plans are billed monthly or yearly in US dollars by card, so make sure your debit or credit card is enabled for international online payments. Plans and prices change from time to time, so check Shopify’s current pricing page rather than relying on older blog posts.
In the store settings, add your business name, address in Pakistan and contact details. Set the store currency to PKR if most of your customers are in Pakistan; if you sell mainly to customers abroad, choose the currency of your main market.
Step 2: Connect a domain and pick a theme
A custom domain (yourbrand.com or yourbrand.pk) looks far more trustworthy than a myshopify.com address. You can buy a domain through Shopify or any registrar and connect it in Settings → Domains; .pk domains are registered through PKNIC and its resellers.
For the design, start with one of Shopify’s free themes or a premium theme from the Shopify Theme Store, then customise colours, fonts and layout to match your brand. Most of your visitors will shop on their phones, so review every page on mobile first: product photos, size charts, the “Add to cart” button and the checkout.
Step 3: Add products that sell
Each product page is a sales pitch and a Google search result at the same time. For every product, add:
- Clear, well-lit photos from several angles, plus a size chart or dimensions where relevant.
- A descriptive title (“Men’s cotton kurta – navy”) rather than an internal code.
- A short description that answers the questions customers ask on WhatsApp: fabric, fit, care, delivery time.
- Variants for sizes and colours, SKUs, stock levels and the product weight, which you need for shipping rates.
Group products into collections such as “New arrivals” or “Winter collection”. If you already have a product list in a spreadsheet, Shopify can import it in bulk from a CSV file.
Step 4: Set up payments — COD, bank transfer and gateways
Cash on delivery (COD)
COD is still how many Pakistani customers prefer to pay, especially for a brand they haven’t bought from before. It’s a built-in manual payment method in Shopify, so you can switch it on in minutes. To keep returns down, confirm each order by phone, SMS or WhatsApp before dispatch, and consider asking for an advance on high-value orders.
Bank transfer
Add a “Bank deposit” manual payment method with your account title and IBAN. Orders stay pending until you confirm the payment has arrived — useful for wholesale customers and larger orders.
Cards and mobile wallets
To accept cards and wallets such as JazzCash and Easypaisa online, you need a third-party payment provider that supports businesses in Pakistan and works with Shopify. Availability changes, so compare the options listed in your admin, their transaction fees, how quickly they settle to your bank account, and what documents they need from your business.
Step 5: Connect your courier and set shipping rates
Couriers such as TCS, Leopards, Trax, PostEx and BlueEx can be connected to Shopify through apps — for example Courierify or Universal Courier Pakistan in the Shopify App Store. A courier app lets you book shipments from the order screen, print labels and load sheets, and send tracking numbers to customers automatically.
Then set your shipping rates in Settings → Shipping and delivery: a flat rate for all of Pakistan, different rates by city or zone, or free delivery above a minimum order value. Keep a simple record of COD amounts your courier collects and remits to you, and of returned parcels, so your profit figures stay accurate.
Step 6: Policies, trust and customer service
New customers need reasons to trust a store they’ve never bought from. Before launch, make sure you have:
- Clear refund, exchange and delivery policies — Shopify provides templates under Settings → Policies.
- A contact page with your phone number, email and a WhatsApp chat button.
- Product reviews, real photos and a short “About us” story.
- Delivery times stated on product pages and in the order confirmation.
Step 7: Selling outside Pakistan
Shopify Markets lets one store show prices in local currencies, translate content and use separate domains or subfolders for each country. Add international shipping rates for the regions you serve, check any duties and product rules in your target markets, and make sure your payment provider can accept international cards.
If you sell to businesses rather than consumers — for example as a sportswear or leather manufacturer — a B2B website with quote requests and wholesale pricing is often a better fit than a standard store.
How much does it cost to start a Shopify store in Pakistan?
Building the store is a one-time cost; running it has a few recurring ones. Plan for all of them:
| Cost | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Shopify plan | Monthly or yearly subscription in USD — check Shopify’s current pricing. |
| Domain | A yearly renewal for your .com or .pk domain. |
| Theme | Free themes, or a one-time fee for a premium theme. |
| Apps | Many are free; reviews, upsell and courier apps may charge monthly. |
| Payments and delivery | Gateway fees per transaction, plus courier and COD handling charges per parcel. |
| Design and setup | Do it yourself, or have it built — Pixvion’s Shopify packages start from Rs 54,000. |
Should you build it yourself or hire a Shopify developer?
If you have a small catalogue and some time, setting up a Shopify store yourself is a good way to start. It’s worth hiring a developer when you need a custom design that stands out, have hundreds of products to upload, want courier, payment or ERP integrations done properly, or plan to sell abroad or to wholesale customers.
Our Shopify developers in Sialkot set up stores for brands across Pakistan and abroad: Store Launch packages start from Rs 54,000, custom-designed Growth Stores from Rs 108,000, and B2B wholesale portals from Rs 225,000. Book a free consultation and we’ll recommend the right setup for your products.
