Salman Butt, co-founder and chief research and innovation officer of e-commerce platform Salla, is on a mission to help Saudi Arabian merchants seize all the opportunities of an exuberant e-commerce market.
When businesses in Saudi Arabia want to sell more online, Salman Butt is the man they turn to first. The co-founder of e-commerce platform Salla is enabling companies of all sizes to flourish in the Saudi Arabian online commerce market, which is currently expanding by an estimated 13% a year.
“When merchants use Salla, they don’t need to set up and run their own IT department to manage their online sales,” Butt says. “We do it all for them. We give them an out-of-the-box solution and we accompany them on their journey to the future.”
Salla makes sure that merchants have what it takes to build an online shop, manage their inventory, and use social media and other channels to sell their products and services to customers across the country.
“Salla offers merchants an unlimited journey into the world of online commerce. We automate their e-commerce and give them advanced features, so that our customers can concentrate on growing their business.”
Salman Butt, Co-Founder, Chief Research & Innovation Officer, Salla
From independent traders and mom-and-pop stores to businesses with shops all over Saudi Arabia, Salla gives online merchants everything they need to market their goods, process customer inquiries, take digital payments, and manage logistics and shipping services.
“We are focused on making all aspects of the user experience better,” Butt says. “Before our first clients started using Salla, it could take a customer more than 10 minutes just to place their order, even before trying to make a payment. Salla automates the whole process and integrates everything in one place.”
Salla in Arabic means basket. The company offers different packages of services to different segments of the market. Salla’s basic offering includes designing templates for websites, managing search engine optimization and social media, and integrating partners who provide payment solutions and logistics services.
Top-tier subscribers to Salla benefit from extra services such as in-depth analytics of customer buying patterns and a mobile app builder. They also have access to an app store where third-party developers create cutting-edge features for Salla’s customers. There are currently more than 400 apps on the store.
With ever-expanding options for services, Salla has been profitable since the end of 2019. Butt says that demand is continuing to grow and gross merchandise value this year will be well over $2 billion.
“We are now targeting even larger merchants and we are also looking at launching international activities,” Butt says. “For Salla, this is just the beginning.”
How much room is there for Salla to grow the Saudi Arabian market?
The domestic e-commerce market has been expanding quickly since the pandemic. There is plenty of room to grow for the market and for Salla. A lot of smaller merchants still think that all they need for e-commerce is a presence on social media, but social media brands are not good platforms for buying and selling. Thanks to Salla, merchants have access to a professional, automated platform that gives their customers a great user experience.
What are the main challenges you have faced in your growth journey?
The greatest challenge has always been to acquire technical talent. All types of merchants use Salla. Some of our clients are selling digital-only services such as training services, other clients are stores who are selling shippable goods which all have product images. We also have customers who are charities. We need to have the calibre to serve them all.
How are you funded?
We raised a $8.5 million Series A round in 2020 and we have used very little of that cash. We are aiming to expand in different ways and we are looking for partners. For example, we want to help larger organizations improve their interaction with their customers and enhance their front-end experience. We will provide these enterprises with the specific features they need.
We currently offer our platform to merchants only within Saudi Arabia but in the coming months we want to organize a soft launch in some other Arab countries. We want Salla to become international.
How is Salla using AI?
AI helps us identify potential cases of fraud during the payment process. It allows us to analyze data about the buyer and understand from their behavior and past history on our platform if there is a risk of fraud. We can flag any risks. Merchants can also use AI to generate descriptions about their products. AI will be increasingly common as we move towards the metaverse.
What do you enjoy most about working at Salla?
I enjoy innovating. I want to spend my time at Salla doing much more than just a job. In 2021 I opened a research and innovation center where we are looking at the future challenges of e-commerce. We want to develop innovative solutions for the knowledge economy.
We work closely with academic researchers and have already published four papers. Innovation has always interested me more than anything else
