Do Tabby and Tamara actually raise conversion rate and AOV in your store?

What the evidence actually shows

The claim that BNPL lifts sales is everywhere, but the public evidence for Gulf stores is thin. Checkout.com says adding Tabby helps merchants raise sales, conversion rates and AOV, yet its announcement gives no figures to back that up (1).

The Richmond Fed makes a similar argument from a different angle: merchants accept higher BNPL fees, so they presumably benefit. That is an inference, not a direct measurement of the effect (5).

What is clearly measured is demand. BNPL adoption among online shoppers reached 42% in Saudi Arabia and 39% in the UAE over the 12 months before March 2025 (6). Arab News reported that, according to a report from Tabby itself, 77% of Saudi consumers use BNPL for essential purchases (7). Treat that second figure with the caution any provider's own research deserves.

So your customers likely know and use these options. Whether offering them changes conversion rate or AOV in your store is a question only your own data can answer.

Which products and price points are most likely to benefit

Shopify describes the mechanism: BNPL can raise AOV by letting customers buy more expensive products, upgrade to premium versions, or add accessories and add-ons (2). That points to the stores most likely to benefit:

• Products where price is the main reason a shopper hesitates at checkout.
• Catalogs with a clear premium tier or a higher-priced version of the bestseller.
• Products with natural add-ons that can go into the same order.

Splitting the payment is the core of the offer. Tamara lets customers split a payment into 2, 3 or 4 instalments, or pay in full (8).

Price matters in both directions. Tamara's official WooCommerce plugin hides the Tamara option at checkout when the order total is below or above the allowed limits (9), so very small and very large baskets may never see it. At the other end, Tamara obtained a SAMA licence in 2025 that lets it offer higher ticket sizes and a broader product set than unlicensed competitors (10), which is relevant if your Saudi orders sit at the high end. Check each provider's current limits for your account before you assume the option will appear for your customers.

What the fees cost you

BNPL is usually more expensive per transaction than cards. When a merchant enables Tabby through the payment provider Mamo, every Tabby transaction is charged 6.9% + AED 1 (3). Your rate may differ depending on how you integrate, so get the exact figure in writing.

For context, the US Federal Reserve Board says BNPL providers charge merchants 5-8%, compared with 2-3% for credit card providers (4). Those are US figures, not Gulf ones, but the direction is what matters: you pay more on every BNPL order.

In return, the provider pays you upfront and takes on credit and fraud risk (11). You are not lending money to the customer, and a missed instalment is not your loss.

The practical test is margin, not revenue. A BNPL order only helps if the extra orders or larger baskets cover the higher fee on every order the customer would have paid by card anyway. Revenue and ROAS will not show you this. Margin after payment fees will, which is why POAS and MER are better guides than ROAS for a decision like this.

Not every shopper who picks BNPL gets approved

Tabby alone decides whether to approve or decline a payment, not the merchant (12). Some shoppers who select it at checkout will be declined and must either switch payment method or leave. And as noted above, the option can be hidden entirely when the order total is outside the allowed limits (9).

This matters for measurement. If you count only completed BNPL orders, you miss the shoppers who tried and dropped off. Ask your provider or payment gateway for declined attempts, and watch whether checkout abandonment changes after you go live.

How to measure the effect in your own store

Because no published figures settle the question (1) (5), set up your own test before and after launch:

• Record a baseline: conversion rate, AOV, checkout abandonment, and payment fees as a share of revenue, over a stable period without major promotions.
• Track BNPL orders separately: their share of all orders, their AOV compared with card orders, and declined attempts.
• Compare like with like. Seasonality, sales events and changes in ad spend move conversion rate more than a new payment option does, so compare equivalent periods, or show the option to part of your traffic only if your platform allows it.
• Separate new and returning customers. If BNPL orders come mostly from customers who used to pay by card, you may be paying a higher fee for the same sale.
• Test instalment messaging on product pages separately from the checkout option where you can. They are different variables.
• Judge on margin after all payment fees, not on revenue.

If conversion rate and AOV rise but margin after fees does not, the option is costing you money rather than making it.

Tabby, Tamara or both?

Tabby operates in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait and has more than 15 million registered users and 40,000 merchant partners (13). Tamara offers 2, 3 or 4 instalments or full payment (8), and its SAMA licence lets it offer higher ticket sizes in Saudi Arabia than unlicensed competitors (10).

Choose based on three things:

• The markets you actually sell into.
• The order values each provider will accept for your account.
• The fee you can negotiate.

Because Tabby makes the approval decision alone (12), a second option may give a declined shopper somewhere to go before they leave. But offering both also means comparing different fees and running a more complicated test, so start with one if you cannot measure two cleanly.

Sources

1. (1) Checkout.com · 2025-03-17
2. (2) Shopify · 2026-05
3. (3) Mamo · 2026-05
4. (4) Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System · 2026-06-05
5. (5) Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond · 2025-03
6. (6) Checkout.com · 2025-03-17
7. (7) Arab News · 2024-12-27
8. (8) Tamara · 2026-09
9. (9) Tamara · 2026-09
10. (10) Business Today Middle East · 2026-05
11. (11) Shopify · 2026-08-27
12. (12) Mamo · 2026-05
13. (13) Business Today Middle East · 2026-05

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