Home ›› 19 Sep 2021 ›› Stock
A number of suspicious e-commerce platforms like Evaly, e-Orange and Dhamaka are luring customers into believing an unbelievable discount method which is not at all sustainable, thereby always running a risk.
In an interview with The Business Post correspondent Rifat Islam, Syed Mostahidal Hoq, chartered accountant and managing director of e-commerce platform -- Daraz Bangladesh -- opined that the e-commerce sphere in the country needs proper regulation to keep scammers out of the game.
The Business Post: Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic we have seen it dent many of our social norms and people heavily rely on e-commerce platforms for daily necessities. How does Covid-19 impact the change in consumer behaviour?
Syed Mostahidal Hoq: The pandemic has indeed impacted our overall lifestyle and mindset to a huge extent. In terms of consumer behaviour – due to the health protocol and risk of exposure outside, many have opted to shift to e-commerce platforms for purchasing their daily necessities.
The number of digital transactions, hence, has also increased. The pandemic has been nothing short of a disaster for the physical outlets like restaurants or shopping malls. But the brighter side here has been that people became more aware of online shopping and the platforms related to it.
TBP: How has the change in consumer behaviour impacted the e-commerce industry?
Syed Mostahidal Hoq: Before the pandemic, Bangladesh witnessed a thriving upsurge in e-commerce industry both in terms of popularity and market value. As the economy has been weakened by the prolonged lockdowns and emerging financial crises, customers now tend to be more conservative with their shopping lists.
The need for gaining reliability and consumer trust in the e-commerce industry has thus become more crucial than that in the past. As for Daraz – we now have to answer a higher number of customer inquiries. Our standard seller maintenance has been redefined with higher benchmarks. Our delivery channels have also been improved after a thorough monitoring.
All these have been a part of our determination to serve our fans and customers better amid the ongoing pandemic.
TBP: What challenges have you faced while driving an e-commerce business during strict lockdowns across the country?
Syed Mostahidal Hoq: The main problem we had to face was deliver products to our customers’ destinations due to restrictions imposed by the government and local authorities. We also faced issues like handing in products to our clients in the wake of area-wise lockdown.
Also in some aspects, the supply chain got disrupted for which it became difficult to make delivery within the timeline.
TBP: Certain reports show that the e-commerce sector has experienced a sharp decline due to some unregulated sites which are impacting trust in customers. How does your platform retain customers’ faith?
Syed Mostahidal Hoq: I believe that our customers are conscious and mature enough to do quality assessment all by themselves and differentiate the services of a globally leading e-commerce platform from the mushrooming shady ones.
Attracting customers with flashy and unrealistic ideals is not a substantial business model. It always holds risks that the customers will raise eyebrows.
Daraz rather emphasizes its growing consumer trust above everything else and then goes on to hold out business offerings getting a feel for the customers’ personalised demand. We need to regulate the e-commerce sphere in Bangladesh to keep scammers out of the game. Establishing some primary criteria and implementing operational policies through transparency and verification could help us drive the customers back to the e-commerce sector again.
TBP: Daraz recently announced the Seller Development Programme. Is it an initiative to protect customer interest and help sellers increase the standard of their service?
Syed Mostahidal Hoq: Yes. We are always at the centre of the attention of different shops and businesses that are willing to be our associates since we are the number one online marketplace in Bangladesh.
It is also our responsibility to ensure that our customers receive the optimum level of services and products.
The Seller Development programme has been an attempt to underline the consistency that we demand from our sellers and also assist them to increase their standard to avoid possible disputes. After this programme, we received great cooperation and
appreciation from our responsible sellers, because they are also keen to compete in a fair and equitable market.
TBP: As our society moves towards digitalisation, what is your thought on the growth of e-commerce sector in Bangladesh?
Syed Mostahidal Hoq: Bangladesh is currently on an upward trajectory with immense potential. The national vision of ‘Digital Bangladesh’ consists of parameters that could potentially facilitate the growth of e-commerce sector. We are anticipating 5G shortly. The flourishing ICT ecosystem is giving us hopes that, perhaps within the next decade, Bangladesh’s economy would be significantly elevated by the contribution of e-commerce. Of course, there are many legislative aspects. We need more security of our web-sphere to protect consumer data and safeguard digital transactions. E-commerce has already proven its efficiency to the customers. Now we need to work on proving its reliability.
TBP: What can e-Cab do to play a better role in the development of e-commerce sector?
Syed Mostahidal Hoq: For the last few years, especially after the pandemic outbreak, the e-commerce sector is booming in terms of growth and meeting the customers’ ever-evolving demand.
The e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-Cab) has been created to develop the e-commerce sector and digital ecosystem of the country. It has contributed significantly to shape our e-commerce industry, and I hope it will continue to do so in the future as well. e-Cab has a role to play in formulating e-commerce-friendly policies, maintaining a healthy, harmonious, and competitive business environment, and making pertinent recommendations to the government and the regulators as well.
