When Bangladesh Stepping into Arena of E-Commerce

Despite tons of hurdles in the way of overall growth of country, Bangladesh is encompassing wider range of technologies and e-commerce growth is its evidence. Bangladesh is stepping into arena of e-commerce slowly, but surely and steadily. It is the e-commerce performance for B2C category, which seems much promising and needs focus. Let’s check what it actually needs.

Bangladesh is considered as an under privilege country with high density population, high rate of illiteracy, high poverty rate, and scanty infrastructure to adopt advance technologies that most of the countries in the world enjoy. Despite such hindrance, today country has 7 million Internet users with more than 200 ISP and 100 million mobile Internet users. Nearly one million Internet users enjoy Internet and mobile banking services subscriptions and contributing nearly 100 core transactions each month.

Factors Favoring Online Shopping Trends
This big volume of Internet users have boosted the growth of e-commerce in unprecedented volume and more than 2500 online shops or say e-storefronts are operating in Bangladesh. Each prosperous brick-and-mortar store is enjoying an online identity offering online shopping or e-transaction facilities for online shoppers. No doubt, the growth of Internet is not one-day or one-year miracle, but the consistent efforts of government, international trade and other organization, contribution of world banks and finance institutions, and finally, contribution of Bangladeshi entrepreneurs residing outside the country.

Initiatives Made to Sustain Online Shopping Growth
Government had made target of “Digital Bangladesh in 2012” and provided all sorts of legal, financial, and infrastructural support to boost the online shopping infrastructure and intentions among the citizens through various nodal agencies. Banks in Bangladesh have formed a common platform to ease the lives of Internet shoppers and money transactions needy Bangladeshis within and outside the country. Recent collaboration of banks with Payza Bangladesh like payment gateway service providers are giving solid evidences of the good intentions of the country and its people to keep pace with time and modernize the society by-and-large.

If we look at the recent development, we can realize that Bangladesh is stepping into arena of e-commerce growth with solid infrastructure.

• Licenses issued to the maximum WiMAX services
• Licenses issued to the VoIP operators by BRTC
• Some additional IIG licenses issued by BRTC
• Permission for upgrade network to TD-LTE for Banglalion and Augere 

Besides these, recent onslaught of mobility have solved many problems indirectly like affordability of computing devices and spreading wired network because mobile devices are cheaper alternative against standalone desktops or laptops with limited mobility. Advent of 3G/4G technologies has solved connectivity issues at greater extents. Introduction of Payza like payment gateway provider in Bangladesh have eliminated the needs of bureaucrats in money transactions or remittance for Bangladeshis sending or receiving money from and to the country.

Nature of Online Shops in Bangladesh
Besides government services, ticket bookings for rail, air, or land transports are optimum usage of e-commerce or e-transactions. Various industries including garments, hospitality, travels, job market, outsourcing, groceries, retails, and many essential commodity businesses are witnessing a big surge through their online shopping opportunity services. In due course, following e-commerce or say online shopping websites are witnessing high revenue turn over.

•  Bikroy
•  Akhoni
•  Cellbazaar
•  ClickBD
•  BDjobs
•  Rokomari
•  And many others 

If we closely examine, majority of online shopping services were C2C nature in recent past, but now B2C types of online shopping is becoming trendy. Reasons are obvious as payment system for online shoppers is becoming more secure and safe against other delivery and collection methods in past traditions. Today any citizen can use her bank account to topple money in Payza Bangladesh account and easily as well as quickly make online payments with the cheapest rates in the world.

Thus, Bangladesh is becoming a paradise for online shoppers gradually and heading towards a bright as well as promising future.