Some might think that Iran’s online shopping market is saturated, but more startups are popping up every day to fill the gap in specific sectors such as online apparel and fashion.

Figures by Forrester Research shows that online shopping sales are growing steadily and is predicted to reach to $370 billion in 2017. Lower prices, better selection, free shipping and conducting research before buying items are some of the reasons which lead people to online purchasing. Iranians are also showing more interest in shopping online and the e-commerce players in the country are helping to build this trust.

Interestingly global statistics show that the majority of online shoppers are women and fashion products have a big share in this market. Hand-made accessories and fashion goods made in Iran have become popular not just in the country, but also in the European and American markets. Ruban, Comod, Limanza, Harasp, 1001Gala, Kadib are only some of the new players in Iran’s online fashion scene. Digikala, Iran’s Amazon and the country’s dominant e-commerce has recently started its online fashion e-commerce called Digistyle. The website is focusing on selling Iranian and international clothing with affordable prices. Bamilo the runner-up in this market is also heavily advertising over both local and international websites and apps trying to take a bigger slice of the pie.

Harasp is one of the websites which is tapping Iran’s online luxury fashion market. The website is offering both eastern and western fashion goods for customers in Iran and is planning to ship the products of Iranian designers to other countries. Zancan, Zegna, Coupnp, Foje, Highness Baby & Kids Couture, Lafemme are some of the designer brands which Harasp is selling on its website.

Clothing is amongst the most smuggled goods in Iran. Most of the brands available in the country are being imported by non-official channels, but the guys behind Harasp hope that this would change. “Unfortunately in Iran there is a problem with finding original cloth and people generally don’t trust the stores that bring these brands,” said Alireza Zare, one of the co-founders of Harasp.

“Iranians have a good sense of fashion. They like to follow the latest fashion trends from movies and social media,” said Mohammad Javaherian, the other co-founder at Harasp.

Although Harasp is mainly focusing on luxury fashion, it doesn’t want to miss on the bigger market of affordable clothing. With the high demand for clothing goods in Iran, Harasp decided to launch a new division called HaraspModa which aims at providing affordable trendy fashion clothing for customers. To educate the customers of the latest trends, they have also started a blog section where they interview Iranian designers. “Information about fashion in Iran – both online and offline – has been weak and scattered. We want to aggregate all these information,” explained Alireza.

We anticipate seeing a fierce competition in the country’s online fashion scene as more startups enter this market. Stay tuned for TechRasa’s exclusive statistics of Iran’s e-commerce scene.