The E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh has suggested the e-commerce consumers to remain aware and purchase commodities from responsible and authentic companies.
The call was made from a virtual press conference organised by the association on the occasion of E-Commerce Day on Thursday.
"E-Cab is working to finalise the 'Digital Commerce Guidelines' of the Ministry of Commerce to bring discipline to the e-commerce sector," said Asif Ahnaf, a director of the association.
"This will enable the buyers to be aware and make purchases from the responsible organisation. It is possible to reduce the problem to a great extent by making the buyers aware," he added.
The theme of this year's E-commerce Day is 'Safe to stay at home, e-commerce is the future.'
The association finance secretary Mohammad Abdul Haque Anu presented various aspects of e-commerce and the association's activities at the press conference.
"In the last eight months of 2020 alone, transactions of Tk 3,000 crore have been made in everyday commodities. More than 1,60,000 deliveries are being made every day now," he said.
He also informed 50,000 new jobs, training of 6,000 youths and overall digital transactions of Tk 16,000 crore have been made so far.
The association president Shomi Kaiser said that this year, E-Cab has developed an action plan focusing on four key issues — grievance management in rural e-commerce, cross-border e-commerce, social media commerce and e-commerce.
She said that the association would take steps to address various issues in the light of the situation, including the implementation of the government's digital commerce policy.
Meanwhile, at another virtual discussion on 'E-Commerce for Living' arranged by the association on Wednesday, state minister for information and communication technology Junaid Ahmed Palak said that the growth in the e-commerce sector in the country was 20 per cent in the past 10 years and 300 per cent in just one year.
Junaid said that e-commerce brought hope when people could not go out of the house in panic at the beginning of coronavirus pandemic in the country last year. New entrepreneurs were created in this sector, he said.
"It's not just about growing up, it's about making the sector sustainable. To make it possible, internet for everyone has to be ensured, adequate logistics, digital transactions and trust need to be built," he added.
At the meeting, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar said, "There would be no such thing as general trade in the future. All will be digital trade. And in the digital trade, the postal department will be used as a tool to deliver goods to the people."
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