e-commerce sales rise 40% centring Eid

The country’s digital platforms recorded a 40 per cent rise in sales throughout the holy month of Ramadan compared to what is normally made in other time as people opted for online purchase in the run up to Eid-ul-Fitr.

According to the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) data, prior to Ramadan, daily sales volume was around 2.5 lakh, which went up by around 3.5 lakh ahead of Eid.

“With the growing popularity, we expected three times as high in sales centring the Eid as it happens during the normal period. The fashion items recorded a bonanza sale, thereby exceeding our expectation,” Priyoshop owner Solaiman Hossain told The Business Post.

“In the last week of Ramadan, it was very tough for us to deliver the products before the Eid Day; so to ensure delivery in time we took fewer orders.”

“Even some orders were kept pending and now we are clearing them after Eid. We are happy with the sales marking the occasion.”

Beyond the fashion items, grocery products, electronics, home appliances and gadgets also saw sales boom.

Compared to the previous Eid-ul-Fitr, the business environment was different this year as the pandemic restriction was lifted and physical stores were open.

“We recorded a 60 per cent rise in business centring the Eid-ul-Fitr and the holy Ramadan,” argued Waseem Alim, CEO, Chaldal.

“As people were accustomed with the online purchase during the Covid-19 pandemic, we also got ourselves set to receive bulk orders and deliver them in time. As a result, the sales growth was better than our expectation.”

The sales volume could be more if there were enough supply of soybean oil, Waseem said, adding that due to supply crunch of the edible oil, a good number of customers did shy away from placing their orders.

e-CAB General Secretary Muhammad Abdul Wahed Tomal told The Business Post that in the last couple of years, they had been witnessing a bumper sale ahead of Eid and there was no difference this time either.

“Sales in the country’s e-commerce platform have recorded around 50 per cent growth in the run up to Eid.”

On average, there were over 3.5 lakh deliveries per day, which were about 2.5 lakh before Eid. The average basket value of each delivery went around Tk 2,150 to Tk 2,200, which increased to Tk 2,500 during the Ramadan period, explained the e-business leader.

“We are witnessing gradual growth in sales but it is to some extent slower as the physical stores were opened during this Eid,” Fahim Mashroor, CEO of AjkerDeal.com, a leading e-commerce, told The Business Post.

“The good thing is that people are now more accustomed with online purchases. It is now our duty to retain these consumers by ensuring timely delivery and quality of products as described in the website,” said Fahim, a former president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS).

He also urged the government to provide policy support in the next budget to retain this growth and help include more consumers especially from rural regions. “We have to concentrate on developing a wide coverage distribution network to that we can deliver bulk orders smoothly.”

Talking on the growth, industry insiders also credited the rise of women participation in the business through Facebook pages as well as other platforms. They said hundreds of women across the county are engaged in e-commerce businesses with different types of local goods.

The participation of women with traditional products is also bringing back our traditions and culture, which needs patron from the government and association to grow, they added.

According to the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) research, Bangladesh’s e-commerce market will reach $ 3 billion by 2023.

Currently, 1,693 e-commerce companies that are also the members of e-CAB are active.

Furthermore, at least 2,50,000 Facebook-based business pages also known as f-commerce platform are also operating online business.

The e-commerce market is worth roughly Tk 22,000 crore, and with the overall growth of 40 per cent, it is expected to reach Tk 30,000 crore towards the end of the year.