If you sell in the UAE, you need more than a store template: you need AED pricing with VAT, cash on delivery, delivery zones and time slots, a driver app with proof of delivery, and a customer app your buyers will actually use. Vibe96 builds all of that with AI in one project, through its builder Vibe Studio — and you own the result.
The UAE market is ready for your store
UAE e-commerce reached AED 42.2 billion in 2025 and is forecast to hit AED 67.2 billion by 2030, already 15.7% of all retail. Delivery is part of daily life: talabat alone processed $9.5 billion of orders in 2025, up 28%, with grocery and retail growing 45%. And 84% of shoppers prefer home delivery.
Payments are changing too. Cards make up 52% of UAE e-commerce payments, e-wallets 24% and cash 7%, and cash-on-delivery use has fallen 53% since 2020 — but many customers still expect it as an option. A store for the UAE needs both.
Why not just use Shopify?
Shopify and similar platforms are excellent for many businesses. But UAE merchants regularly hit the same limits:
• Delivery logic — zones by area, different fees per zone, free delivery over an amount, time slots with capacity and same-day cut-offs usually need paid apps.
• Your own drivers — assigning orders, a driver app, proof-of-delivery photos and cash collection are outside a standard store.
• Customer app — a branded app on Google Play and the App Store is another subscription or agency project.
• Monthly costs — platform plan plus apps plus transaction fees add up every month.
• Ownership — you rent the platform; you can't take the code with you.
Vibe96 takes a different approach: AI builds your own store, with these features included as tested modules, and you can download the source code.
What you get on Vibe96
The shop
• Products with photos, variants (size, colour) and add-ons (gift message, vase, chocolates), each with its own price.
• Categories, search, filters and sorting; best sellers and featured products.
• Stock control that cannot oversell: stock is reserved atomically when an order is placed and returned automatically on cancellation.
• Cart that works for guests and merges when they sign in.
• Checkout as a guest or signed in, with saved addresses in UAE format (emirate, area, street, building).
• Prices in AED with 5% VAT included or added — your choice — and your TRN on documents.
Payments
• Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay through Stripe, or PayPal.
• Cash on delivery, recorded automatically when the driver delivers.
• Refunds from the admin panel.
Delivery and drivers
• Delivery zones by area name or drawn on a map, each with its own fee, free-delivery threshold and minimum order.
• Time slots per weekday (for example 10–12, 12–2, 2–4, 4–6, 6–8) with capacity and cut-off times; full slots show "Fully booked".
• Driver assignment with suggestions (online drivers with the lightest load in that slot and zone).
• A Driver app for Android and iPhone: today's deliveries by slot, call or WhatsApp the customer, navigate with Google Maps or Waze, proof-of-delivery photo, recipient name and cash collected. It works through poor signal and sends changes when the connection returns.
• A deliveries map in the admin panel.
Customer experience
• A customer app with the same products, cart and account as the website.
• Order tracking for signed-in customers and for guests by order number.
• Notifications by email, SMS, WhatsApp and push: order confirmed, out for delivery, delivered.
• Optional: coupons, gift cards and loyalty points, reviews and ratings, Arabic with right-to-left layout.
The admin panel
• Dashboard with today's orders, revenue in AED, orders out for delivery and drivers online.
• Orders with filters, status changes, packing slips and refunds.
• Products, categories, add-ons and stock; CSV import and export.
• Reports by day, week or month with Excel export, and UAE tax invoices if you add the invoices module.
How to build it in a day
1. Open Vibe Studio and describe your store: what you sell, your delivery areas and slots, how customers pay, and the apps you want (Customer app, Driver app).
2. Answer Nova's questions — for example your delivery fee and free-delivery amount, categories, WhatsApp number and address. These values go straight into the store.
3. Approve the plan and choose a look.
4. Press Develop. Vibe Studio installs the shop, payments, delivery and notification modules and builds your unique features on top.
5. Test: place an order as a guest on your phone, assign it to a demo driver, mark it delivered with a photo.
6. Add your Stripe keys in Admin → Settings → Payments, and your Twilio details for SMS and WhatsApp.
7. Press Go live and connect your domain.
Real-world details we handle for you
• Two customers can't book the last place in the 6–8 pm slot — capacity is locked in the database.
• Ten people can't buy the last three bouquets — exactly three orders succeed.
• A card-paid order isn't cancelled by mistake when payment arrives at the last second.
• Drivers only see their own deliveries; proof photos are private.
• Demo data is realistic for Dubai, and removable in one click.
See a delivery store being built in the Vibe Studio tutorial video.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Shopify alternative in the UAE? For businesses that deliver with their own drivers and want their own apps, Vibe96 builds a complete store with delivery zones, time slots, a driver app, cash on delivery and AED VAT pricing, and you own the code.
Can I accept cash on delivery and card payments? Yes. Vibe96 stores support card, Apple Pay and Google Pay through Stripe, PayPal, and cash on delivery.
Does it include a driver app? Yes. The Driver app for Android and iPhone shows today's deliveries, navigation, proof-of-delivery photos and cash collection.
Can my store be in Arabic? Yes, with full right-to-left support.
Start building: Launch your UAE online store on Vibe96 →
