الفرق بين عرض الأسعار شامل الضريبة أو بدونها في السوق السعودي

Sahl Monday,22 Dec 2025

One of the most confusing issues for customers in online stores in Saudi Arabia is pricing: Does the displayed price include tax? Don't they discover any additional fees upon checkout? This makes a huge difference in customer confidence and their shopping experience, and sometimes leads to them abandoning their cart before completing the purchase.
1. Customer Experience with Prices in Saudi Arabia:
Saudi customers today are highly aware and know that all products and services are subject to a 15% value-added tax. Therefore, when they see a product price in a store without a tax indication, they are forced to calculate it themselves or discover the surprise upon checkout. This can cause frustration or even a loss of trust in the store.
2. Displaying Prices Including Tax:
When the price is shown as tax-inclusive, the customer sees the final amount immediately, without any confusion. This gives them a sense of transparency and clarity, and makes it easier to complete the purchase because they know exactly how much they will pay from the outset. Many large stores in Saudi Arabia, such as Amazon and formerly Souq.com, adhere to this approach to gain customer trust. 3. Displaying Prices Excluding Tax:
In some cases, stores display prices excluding tax and add them at the final step before payment. This approach may be more beneficial for businesses dealing with businesses (B2B) than individuals, as organizations are often more interested in seeing the base price before tax. However, with individual customers in the Saudi market, this approach often causes confusion or annoyance.
4. Which is Best for Your Online Store?
If your store targets end consumers (B2C) in Saudi Arabia, it is better and more convenient to display the price including tax directly. This saves time for the customer and enhances their sense of transparency. However, if your store targets companies or distributors, displaying the price excluding tax may be a suitable option, but you must clearly state that the displayed price does not include VAT.
5. Legal Aspects in Saudi Arabia:
The General Authority of Zakat, Tax, and Customs in Saudi Arabia emphasizes clarity in displaying prices, stipulating that the price displayed to the customer must clearly indicate whether it includes or excludes tax. Failure to do so may result in violations or penalties. Therefore, it's always best to explain clearly and explicitly.
6. The story from the market:
Many customers tell stories of online stores adding tax at the last step, which makes the customer feel they've been "cheated," even if the store didn't mean to. Conversely, stores that display final prices including tax receive positive customer feedback and increase their purchase completion rate, because the customer feels the price is clear from the outset.
Ultimately, the difference between displaying a price including or excluding tax is a matter of trust and customer comfort. In the Saudi market, where consumer awareness is high, it's always best to display the final price including tax to avoid confusion, gain customer loyalty, and increase sales.