Iraqi women are deeply embedded in social media, yet nearly half say they never buy online. New IIACSS research shows where the gap lies, and where the opportunity for brands is already taking shape.

Every day, seven in ten Iraqi women open WhatsApp. Two in three open TikTok. Close to half scroll through Instagram. By almost any measure of digital engagement, this is a connected audience. Yet when it comes to spending money online, the picture changes. Nearly half of women in the latest IIACSS national survey (48%) say they never shop online, and just over a quarter (27%) do so at least once a month.

That tension, high engagement, modest conversion — sits at the heart of women’s e-commerce in Iraq. But beneath the headline is a market that is far from uniform. Younger women are considerably more likely to shop online than older women. Instagram is emerging as a shopping channel in its own right. And for many women, the path to purchase looks less like a website checkout and more like a conversation with a seller.

It is a story unfolding in an already highly connected country. According to DataReportal, Iraq had an estimated 39.6 million internet users by late 2025, equivalent to 83.8% of the population. Instagram’s advertising reach stood at 21.5 million, up 15% year on year, with women making up around 40% of that advertising audience, a reasonably balanced split, though still tilted slightly towards men. These are advertising-reach figures rather than counts of active users, but they illustrate the scale of the digital audience already within brands’ reach.

Always Online, Rarely at the Checkout

Digital life for Iraqi women is anchored in a handful of platforms used daily: WhatsApp (70%), TikTok (67%), YouTube (46%) and Instagram (44%). (See Figure 1)

Shopping sits on a very different rhythm. Only 7% of women buy online at least once a week, while a further 20% buy somewhere between two or three times a month and about once a month; together, the 27% who shop at least monthly. At the other end of the spectrum, 48% never shop online at all. (See Figure 2)

The gender comparison sharpens the point. Among men, 38% say they never shop online, ten percentage points fewer than among women. Put simply, close to half of Iraqi women are outside online shopping altogether, compared with a little over a third of men.

What makes this notable is that the gap does not appear to be one of basic digital presence. Women in the survey are active, daily users of the very platforms on which much of Iraq’s online selling takes place. The challenge suggested by these figures is conversion: turning everyday engagement into a first purchase, and occasional purchasing into a regular habit.

Instagram Is a Place to Buy, Not Just Browse

Among social-commerce channels, Instagram leads. 22% of all female respondents use Instagram Shops, roughly one in five women, ahead of Facebook Shops (13%) and buying directly from a seller through WhatsApp (10%). (See Figure 3)

The lead is even clearer among women who actually shop online. Of female online shoppers, 43% use Instagram Shops, compared with 26% who use Facebook Shops and 19% who buy from a seller through WhatsApp. Dedicated shopping marketplaces barely register by comparison: Open Souq is used by 8% of female online shoppers, local Iraqi online stores by 5% and Miswag by 4%.

Instagram also stands out among the most engaged buyers. Among female online shoppers who buy at least once a month, 52% use Instagram Shops, compared with 32% of those who shop less often. Use of Facebook Shops and WhatsApp sellers barely differs between the two groups.

Why it matters: for brands and sellers, the most popular platform is not automatically the most productive sales channel. Where a brand builds awareness and where it closes a sale may be two different places — and planning around daily reach alone risks missing that distinction. For dedicated shopping marketplaces, the figures show how much ground they still have to make up against social platforms.

Fashion Opens the Door; Beauty Sets Women Apart

Clothing, shoes and accessories are the leading online category for Iraqi women. Looking across all female respondents, not only online shoppers, 35% report buying in this category online in the past 6 months.

The more surprising finding is on the men’s side: 36% of men report the same, almost exactly matching women. Fashion, in other words, is not a “women’s category” online in Iraq. It appears to be one of the main entry points into e-commerce for both genders.

Gender differences become clearer in other categories. In beauty, 15% of women bought cosmetics or perfumes online during the past six months, compared with 9% of men. Electronics move in the opposite direction: only 2% of women bought other electronics online, compared with 8% of men — making men more than three times as likely to buy in this category. (See Figure 4)

In Checkout.com’s 2026 MENA study, 54% of consumers reported buying clothing and accessories online, making it the second most common category after food delivery (59%).

Why it matters: fashion and beauty brands are selling into the categories where women’s online purchasing is most established, while electronics retailers are, for now, reaching a predominantly male online audience. For beauty in particular, the gap between women and men suggests a category where female demand is already distinctive.

Younger Women Sit at the Centre of Iraq’s Female Online Shopping Market

Online shopping is considerably more embedded in the behaviour of younger Iraqi women. Around six in ten women aged 18–34 (59%) shop online, compared with 43% of women aged 35–54. The gap widens when it comes to regular shopping: 35% of women aged 18–34 buy online at least once a month, more than twice the share among women aged 35–54 (16%). Even among women who already shop online, younger women are the more frequent buyers: 60% of those aged 18–34 buy at least monthly, compared with 38% of those aged 35–54.

These differences suggest that online shopping is becoming a normal part of life for younger women, while older women remain comparatively less engaged, both in whether they shop online and in how often. Because this is a single survey at one point in time, it cannot tell us whether the difference reflects a lasting generational shift or life-stage factors. Either way, the centre of gravity of women's online shopping in Iraq currently sits with women under 35.

Instagram Leads for Younger Shoppers; Facebook Catches Up With Age

Among female online shoppers, the mix of social-commerce channels shifts with age, though less dramatically than one might expect.

Nearly half of female online shoppers aged 18–34 (48%) use Instagram Shops, more than twice the share using Facebook Shops (21%) and three times the share buying through WhatsApp (16%). Instagram use peaks among women aged 25–34, at 51%, compared with 44% among 18–24s. Among female online shoppers aged 35–54, Instagram Shops (34%) and Facebook Shops (33%) are used almost equally. Facebook Shops use climbs from 15% among 18–24s to 34% among 35–44s, making it the channel with the steepest rise across age groups.

Buying from a seller through WhatsApp rises from 16% of female online shoppers aged 18–34 to 23% of those aged 35–54, roughly one in four. Taken together, Instagram is the strongest channel among younger female shoppers, while older female shoppers spread their buying more evenly across Instagram and Facebook, with WhatsApp playing a growing supporting role. Iraq is not unique in this respect. Social media plays a major role in shopping across Arab markets. In Saudi Arabia, for example, PwC found that 76% of consumers surveyed used social media for brand discovery, and more than 80% said social-media advertising influenced their purchasing decisions.

Why it matters: For brands targeting women under 35, Instagram deserves particular attention. Among women aged 35–54 who already shop online, Facebook becomes almost equally important, while WhatsApp plays a growing supporting role.

When the Conversation Becomes the Checkout

Iraq now has more dedicated shopping websites and apps than before. Yet earlier qualitative research conducted by IIACSS with female shoppers suggests that, for many women, the easiest route to a purchase still begins on a social-media page. Those conversations pointed to a clear preference for an easy, low-effort shopping journey.

Part of the appeal may lie in how simple that journey can be:

1 See the product.

2 Send the seller a message.

3 Share a phone number and address.

4 The seller passes the order to a delivery company.

5 Pay in cash when it arrives.

No account registration. No saved card. No lengthy checkout form. In many cases, no need for a bank card at all.

This model is well established in the market. Iraq’s e-commerce ecosystem has long been shaped by cash on delivery and limited card use, and recent reporting describes the same basic pattern: social-media platforms have become virtual marketplaces, while cash on delivery allows shoppers to order without relying on a bank card or a digital-payment service. This survey confirms it: 92% of female online shoppers usually pay cash on delivery, and only 4% usually pay by bank card.

Taken together, the findings show that there is no single “Iraqi female online shopper.” Nearly half of women remain outside e-commerce altogether. Others buy occasionally. A smaller group — just over a quarter, shops at least monthly, including a core of around one in fourteen who buy every week. Cutting across these groups are sharp differences by age, platform and category.

For brands and retailers, the opportunity is therefore more specific than simply “targeting women online.” The digital reach already exists. Social commerce is central to how purchases happen. And the most developed female market today is concentrated among younger women, many of whom are already comfortable moving from feed to purchase on Instagram — while older women who buy online divide their purchases more evenly between Instagram and Facebook.

What This Means

1. The challenge is conversion, not connection. Iraqi women are already highly present on digital platforms. For businesses, the immediate opportunity is to reduce the friction between digital attention, first purchase and repeat purchase.
2. Selling in Iraq means selling inside the conversation. For many female shoppers, the checkout happens inside the conversation. Brands, delivery firms and payment providers that make this journey faster, more reliable and more trustworthy are working with existing behaviour rather than against it.
3. Channel strategy should follow age. Instagram is central for younger women, Facebook becomes just as important among women over 35, and WhatsApp plays a growing supporting role. A one-platform approach is likely to miss large parts of the female market.