In this article
Key takeaways
- The UAE is the biggest market for Shopify store ads (36%), then Saudi Arabia (28%) and Kuwait (27%).
- Relative to market size Kuwait comes first: 14% of its ads lead to Shopify, against 8% in Saudi Arabia, where Salla leads.
- Three ways in GccFY: the library with the Shopify filter, a country and a word; the Domains screen filtered to Shopify; the Advertisers screen filtered to Shopify.
- Perfumes are Shopify's first niche (298 advertiser pages), then skincare (255).
Where Shopify stores cluster in the Gulf
| Country | Shopify store ads | Of all Shopify ads | Of the country's ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAE | 5,452 | 36% | 13% |
| Saudi Arabia | 4,280 | 28% | 8% |
| Kuwait | 4,093 | 27% | 14% |
| Qatar | 2,632 | 17% | 12% |
| Oman | 1,250 | 8% | 6% |
| Bahrain | 1,245 | 8% | 8% |
One ad can run in several countries, so the shares do not add up to a hundred. The last column matters most when you hunt for competitors: in Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar, Shopify is the second destination of ads after selling over WhatsApp without a store. In Saudi Arabia Salla is bigger (20%), and still 645 pages advertise Shopify stores there. Details: Shopify stores in Saudi Arabia and Shopify stores in Kuwait.
Way one: the library with Shopify, a country and a word
- In the GccFY library pick the "Shopify" store type.
- Pick the country: Saudi Arabia, the UAE or Kuwait.
- Type the niche word in Arabic, as advertisers write it: "عطر" (perfume), "بشرة" (skin), "فستان" (dress), "مكملات" (supplements).
- Choose "active" and sort by longest running: the stores whose ads last come first.
- From each card open the store page behind the ad, and save what matters in a collection.
This is the fastest way to learn what is being advertised, and it leads you to the stores themselves.
Way two: the Domains screen filtered to Shopify
Here is the list itself: stores, not ads. Set the platform filter to "Shopify" and sort by number of ads, and every store domain appears with its total ads, what runs now, its ads in each of the six countries, and the landing pages we captured for it.
- For one country's stores: read that country's column: a store with many ads in Kuwait and few elsewhere is most likely Kuwaiti.
- For stores using a given pixel: add the pixel filter to see Shopify stores carrying the TikTok or Snapchat pixel, the ones advertising there too.
- For a store you know: search its domain directly.
Way three: the Advertisers screen filtered to Shopify
The Advertisers screen lists the pages that advertise, not the stores. Filter it to "Shopify" and sort by number of ads. Its search box searches page names, so type a word merchants put in their names: "عطور" (perfumes), "perfume", "عبايات" (abayas), "beauty".
For each advertiser you see its ads, what runs now and its countries. One page may advertise several stores, and one store may advertise from several pages, so use both screens together.
By niche: where to start
| Niche | Ads on Shopify | Advertiser pages | Word to search |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perfumes and incense | 1,715 | 298 | عطر |
| Skincare | 1,471 | 255 | بشرة |
| Health and supplements | 1,143 | 218 | مكملات |
| Fashion and shoes | 1,122 | 273 | فستان |
| Food, coffee and dates | 957 | 199 | قهوة |
| Hair care | 948 | 226 | شعر |
Advertiser pages here means the Facebook and Instagram pages that advertised Shopify stores in each niche during the study's days. If you prefer the manual way: search the niche word in Meta's library, open each ad's link, and check its platform with an extension such as Wappalyzer or BuiltWith. It works, but slowly, store by store; how to tell any store's platform is in Which platform is this store.
You found the stores: what next?
- Pick five competitors in your country and niche, and save them in a collection.
- Study each store with the general steps: products, ranking, theme, pixels and ads: Spy on a Shopify store.
- Watch them weekly: new ads, ads that stopped, a new country.
Remember that what you see is ads and store pages, not sales: any store's sales are private to its owner. GccFY's AI helper can shorten the search: ask it about Shopify stores in a niche and a country and it returns a report with the advertisers, the stores and the ads.
