E-commerce in Serbia
E-commerce is selling over the internet. To open an online store in Serbia you need a registered business, a domain and hosting, a platform, card payments, fiscalization, a courier contract and legal documents.
What you need to start, what it actually costs, and how to choose a platform — without marketing promises, with figures that apply in Serbia.
What e-commerce is
E-commerce is selling goods and services over the internet — from a single page with an “order” button to a store with thousands of SKUs, card payments and a warehouse link. In Serbia the same thing is also called an online store, internet shop or online shop.
Unlike a physical shop, e-commerce does not end at checkout. Behind every order is a chain that has to work: stock is deducted, the customer gets a confirmation, a courier picks up the parcel, an invoice is issued, and if goods come back — the return follows the legal deadline. When someone says “I want an online store”, they are asking for that whole chain to work.
What you need to start
The order matters, because some pieces cannot be added later without rework.
1. A registered business
Selling online in Serbia requires a registered company or sole trader. The activity code is usually 47.91 — retail via mail order or the internet. Without it you cannot even open a merchant account for cards.
2. Domain and hosting
The domain is the address; hosting is where the site lives. A .rs domain is registered through an accredited registrar; hosting starts at €9 per month and is chosen by expected traffic and how fast the site needs to load.
3. The store itself
This is the choice between a ready-made platform and a custom build. More on that below — it is the decision that costs the most if you get it wrong.
4. Payments
Card payments need a contract with a bank or payment provider. Cash on delivery and bank transfer usually sit next to them — in Serbia cash on delivery still carries a large share of orders, so it is not switched off.
5. Fiscalization
Since 2022 every retail transaction, including online, must be fiscalized. That means an electronic fiscal device connected to the store, which issues the receipt automatically.
6. Delivery
A courier contract and rules: who pays for shipping, by when parcels go out, what happens to returns. Linking the courier automates label printing and tracking.
7. Legal documents
Terms of use, privacy policy, return policy and company details. These are not a formality — the Consumer Protection Act sets the withdrawal period and what you must tell the buyer.
How much an online store costs
The price depends on how much you do yourself. Three realistic scenarios:
| one-off | monthly | for whom | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ready-made platform, you set it up | €0–300 | €30–80 | small assortment, the owner has time |
| Turnkey store | from €990 | from €155 | a company that wants to sell, not learn an admin |
| Custom build | from €5,000 | by agreement | a special process, an ERP link, more than one market |
In the first case you pay less but do everything yourself: product entry, descriptions, SEO, payments and delivery, and later maintenance. In the second, someone else does that. The third only makes sense when a standard platform truly cannot follow the process.
Our prices are public on the pricing page, and building a store is described on online store development.
How to choose a platform
Most people decide by subscription price, which is the most expensive way to choose. Better questions:
- What is in the base price, and what is an add-on? On many platforms a cheap subscription means every serious feature is paid extra, so the real bill is three times higher.
- Does it support fiscalization and local couriers? Foreign platforms usually do not, so you add them through middlemen who charge per transaction.
- Who runs the catalog? A store with a thousand items and no descriptions or SEO data does not get traffic. Someone has to write them — you, an agency, or a tool.
- What happens when traffic spikes? A sale that takes the site down costs more than a year of hosting.
- Whose are the data and the code? If you change vendor one day, do you take everything with you.
We answer that with Shopakt — a turnkey store where we handle setup, catalog, hosting and maintenance, and core e-commerce features are not billed separately. The full module list is on Shopakt modules.
What decides whether a store actually sells
The stack is a prerequisite, not the result. In practice these are the things that separate stores that sell from stores that merely exist:
- Load speed. A customer on a phone will not wait. Every extra second is lost orders.
- Product descriptions. A catalog with a name and a price, and no copy, does not rank in search and does not convince the buyer. That is why AI descriptions exist as a service.
- Search visibility. Without SEO the store depends on paid ads — a cost that never stops.
- Getting the customer back. Abandoned carts, confirmations and reminders recover sales that would otherwise disappear. That is the email system.
- Content that brings traffic. Blog posts and landing pages catch searches before the buyer even knows what they want.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to open an online store? With a ready-made platform and a small assortment — a few days. A turnkey store with catalog, payments and delivery takes three to six weeks, depending on the number of products.
Do I need a company? Yes. Online sales must be registered, and without a registered activity you cannot contract card payments.
Can I sell without fiscalization? Not for retail. Fiscalization is a legal obligation and is handled with an electronic fiscal device connected to the store.
Is it worth selling only through social networks instead of a site? As an extra channel — yes. As the only one — no. The profile is not yours, the rules change without notice, and customer data stays with the platform.
How much does maintenance cost? Hosting from €9 and maintenance from €49 per month with us; if we run the store, that is included in the monthly subscription.