An e-commerce site is a web platform for online retail. Uzbekistan's e-commerce market has grown fast — about $2.3B turnover in 2024, with 38% annual growth. But entering requires full site development, local payment systems (Click, Payme), delivery, and ongoing support. A-to-Z process here.
Platform choice
(1) WooCommerce — mid-size stores 5-5000 products, easy Click/Payme; (2) OpenCart — lighter, popular in CIS; (3) Shopify — for export, but local payments not fully supported; (4) Custom Laravel/PHP — for large businesses; (5) Telegram Mini App — innovative for locals. Among Sayt.uz clients WooCommerce (62%) and OpenCart (21%).
Catalog and categories
Structure: 2-3 category levels (deeper confuses customers). Per product: 5-10 photos, price, description, stock, color/size variants, related products.
Cart and checkout
Cart abandonment averages 70% — aim for 50%. Tactics: multi-step checkout (not one-page), guest checkout, saved addresses, abandoned-cart emails.
Click and Payme integration
Click: WooCommerce plugin 400-600K sum, API (REST/SOAP). Payme: plugin 500-700K sum. At least 2 payment systems — if Click fails, the customer pays via Payme.
Delivery
Own couriers (small shop), third-party (Yandex Delivery, Express24), post (Uzpost). WooCommerce plugins available. Automatic shipping cost by distance.
SEO and traffic
Clean URLs ("/product-name/" not "/p/1234/"), Schema.org Product, SEO copy on category pages, reviews, blog content, Google Shopping.
Sayt.uz practice
412 active e-commerce sites — the largest category. A good store: 50-500 products, Click+Payme, 2-3 delivery options, mobile-first, 30+ blog posts. Sales: 8-50M sum/month. Site cost: 5-20M sum, monthly 1.5-4M sum. Tip: launch with a small product set (10-20), then expand — the first version doesn't have to be perfect.