With more and more people getting access to internet-powered devices, the Eid tradition of heading out for hours of window shopping is being replaced by consumers now choosing to buy products from the comfortable confines of their homes, thanks to the wonderful realm of e-commerce.
The ever-worsening traffic congestion situation has also lent a boost to online shopping portals as consumers are finding the organised webpages more convenient than the chaos of traffic tailbacks formed around the popular shopping malls.
“Last year, we [online entrepreneurs] bagged around Tk35 crore during Ramadan sale while this year we expect the sale to rise to Tk45 crore,” said said Shameem Ahsan, president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS).
The sale of products, especially fashion items, has gone up by 50% on the occasion of Eid as creative and innovative designs were being displayed online, he added.
E-shopping is becoming more popular because of the increased use of smartphones, laptops and tablet computers, said Shameem, also the chief executive officer of Akhoni.com Ltd.
“Because of Dhaka’s traffic congestion, online shopping has experienced a boost ahead of Eid, as people want to save time and avoid traffic jam,” he added.
With the change in shopping trends more evident than before, online entrepreneurs are relying on aggressive marketing campaigns to attract consumers, especially the young generation and university students through social media platforms like Facebook.
According to sector insiders, the market’s main target demographics are tech-savvy young people and housewives.
“Our target groups are university students and young people and we offer products with latest designs from home and abroad,” Kawser Choudhury Rasel, director of online portal wearhubbd.com, told the Dhaka Tribune.
“We received huge response from the buyers this year compared to the previous year’s Eid, while most consumers are from well-off families living in the capital,” said Razib Ahmed, president of e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB).
He also urged the government to improve the existing postal service infrastructure, especially in the rural areas, as courier services in the country were expensive and unable to deliver products everywhere.
E-commerce is an emerging sector that requires government policy framework, he said.
The country’s online shopping portals now offer a wide variety of products covering clothes, gift items, gadgets, groceries, foods, home appliances, jewellery, books etc.
The local shoppers have the choice of paying in cash on delivery, or pay through debit or credit cards, or use mobile banking, or bKash services; international shoppers through Paypal or Payza.
Consumer feedbacks
Mousumi Ahmed, a private company employee who prefers to shop online, told the Dhaka Tribune that she does not get the time to go out shopping, while long traffic jams only add to her woes.
However, she pointed out that in order to retain the trust of customers, entrepreneurs must keep the online product prices competitive with the marketplaces to ensure that their clientele returned to buy from their portals.
Tahmina Jessy, a private university student who also shops online, said: “It is easy to choose products online as a lot of them are showcased [on the pages].”
The online stores offer consumers the chance to recheck the quality and design of the products as many times as they want before finally making their pick, she said, adding that it would be difficult to do so at shopping malls.
