Why do dropshipping stores selling electronics fail in Saudi Arabia?
Almost never the product. What kills them is a rising cost per customer meeting a margin that cannot absorb it — the store is profitable at one ad price and underwater at another, and nothing on the storefront changed.
What actually kills them
The second cause is delivery time. A customer who waits three weeks does not buy again and frequently does not stay quiet about it, so the acquisition cost has to be paid twice for the same person.
Dropshipping trades margin for not holding stock, and the trade only works while traffic is cheap. For an electronics store in Saudi Arabia, the answer turns on one thing in particular: Electronics are compared before they are bought, and the comparison happens on somebody else’s site. Price is visible and margin is thin.
What is different about Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is the largest ecommerce market in the region by some distance, and the most phone-dominated.
Cash on delivery remains common in Saudi Arabia, which changes the economics of every refused delivery.
What is different about an electronics store
The part nobody plans for is returns: if the supplier will not take one back, the store is the returns department.
Where a mobile app comes into it
Electronics buy rarely, so an app has less to do here unless accessories and consumables are a real part of the business.