What an ecommerce platform has to do
An online store has to take an order, take the money and get the goods out the door, without selling something you do not have. Most platforms look alike on the storefront. What differs is everything after checkout: stock, payments, delivery, returns, invoices and support.
Test 1: local payments and cash on delivery
Most online orders in Nepal are paid through eSewa, Khalti, a bank QR or cash on delivery. Ask which of these work at checkout, who holds the merchant account, how failed or pending payments show up, and how cash collected by a courier is reconciled against orders.
Test 2: live stock shared with your shops
If you also sell from a shop or warehouse, the website must sell from the same stock count. Ask whether availability is live or synced on a schedule, whether open orders reserve stock, and what happens when the last unit sells in the shop while it sits in a web cart. A separate stock copy for the website is the most common cause of cancelled orders.
Test 3: delivery, returns and refunds
Ask how delivery charges and areas are set, how an order is handed to a courier, and how the customer is told. Then ask to see a return: the request, the approval, the refund and the stock coming back. If returns are handled outside the system, they will not show up in your numbers.
Test 4: invoices, VAT and accounts
Web sales are still sales. Ask how a VAT invoice is issued for an online order, whether orders and payments post to your accounts automatically, and how cash-on-delivery money is matched. Confirm current invoicing rules with the IRD or your tax adviser.
Test 5: who owns the store and the data
Check whether you can use your own domain, change the storefront design, export products, orders and customers, and leave without losing them. Ask what the platform charges per order or as a commission, as well as the monthly fee.
Marketing, email and support
Coupons, automatic deals, order emails, abandoned-cart reminders, reviews and support tickets decide whether customers come back. Ask whether these are built in or need separate tools, and whether order emails can carry your own branding.
Questions to put to every vendor
Use the same questions with each vendor so the answers are comparable.
- Place a test order paid by eSewa, Khalti and cash on delivery.
- Show stock dropping in the shop when the website sells the last unit.
- Process a return and refund, and show stock coming back.
- How is a VAT invoice issued for a web order, and does it reach the accounts?
- Can we use our own domain and export all orders and customers?
- What does year one cost in total, including commission per order?
Options available in Nepal
Ecommerce in Nepal spans hosted store builders made for Nepali sellers, global platforms and custom builds.
Descriptions below are the vendors' own positioning, taken from their public websites in October 2026. They are not rankings and we have not tested every product. Vividia is a vendor too, so check every claim, including ours, in a demo with your own data.
- Blanxer: a commerce platform built in Nepal for ecommerce websites, POS billing, inventory, Fonepay QR, delivery bookings and SMS updates.
- Hamro Digital: an ecommerce SaaS for creating an online store without coding, with eSewa, Khalti and bank transfer.
- Vendriks: online stores with templates, delivery zones, analytics and a mobile staff app, with eSewa and Khalti.
- Nepdora: a website builder for ecommerce sites with eSewa, Khalti, hosting and local support.
- Zalient: an ecommerce platform accepting Fonepay, eSewa and Khalti, with local courier integration.
- WooCommerce: an open-source store plugin for WordPress, extended with Nepali payment gateway plugins.
- Shopify: a global hosted commerce platform; check which Nepali payment methods are available for your account.
- Vividia Ecommerce: storefronts on live stock from Vividia IMS, eSewa, Khalti, card and cash-on-delivery checkout, orders, returns, abandoned carts, promotions, an email designer, reviews and support tickets.
