In much of the GCC, many shoppers still prefer to pay when the parcel arrives, especially first-time buyers who do not know your store yet. Removing cash on delivery can cost you real sales, so the question is rarely yes or no. It is how to offer it without being hurt by it.
This guide gives you the honest trade-offs and a simple set of rules you can apply from day one.
Offer cash on delivery if your customers expect it, but treat it as a controlled option: confirm every order, charge a small fee or set a minimum, and track refusals. Without those controls it quietly eats your margin.
What cash on delivery gives you
The upside is trust. A customer who has never heard of you risks nothing, so hesitation drops and first orders come easier.
- Higher conversion among buyers who distrust online cards or do not own one.
- No payment gateway fee on those orders.
- A friendlier first impression for a new brand.
What it costs you
The downside is that the customer can say no at the door. You then pay shipping twice, the product comes back used or damaged, and the stock was blocked meanwhile.
Couriers also take time to remit the cash they collected, and carriers usually charge a handling fee for collecting it. Check the current fee in your courier's contract rather than assuming.
- Refused or unanswered deliveries (outbound and return shipping paid by you).
- Delayed cash settlement from the courier.
- Extra reconciliation work: matching collected cash to orders.
Rules that keep it profitable
Most of the damage comes from fake or impulsive orders. A few cheap controls remove much of it:
- Confirm each order by WhatsApp or a call before shipping; ship only after a yes.
- Add a small COD fee that covers the courier handling, shown clearly at checkout.
- Set a maximum order value for COD and ask for prepayment above it.
- Offer a small discount for card or mada, Apple Pay or similar prepayment instead of punishing COD.
- Keep a blocklist of numbers that refused before.
Track the numbers that matter
Measure the refusal rate per courier and per city, and compare your margin on COD versus prepaid orders. If refusals are high in one area, switch courier or require prepayment there.
Remember VAT: where you are VAT-registered, the tax applies to the sale regardless of how the customer pays, so record COD sales properly and check the current rules with your accountant.
Setting it up with Uttra
In Uttra you can describe the checkout in chat and see it in the live preview. For example: "Add a cash on delivery option at checkout with a 10 SAR fee, require a phone number, and show a notice that we will confirm the order on WhatsApp before shipping." You can then adjust the wording by clicking the text, and publish when it looks right.