E-commerce to accelerate in years ahead

The growth of the e-commerce market in Bangladesh is set to accelerate in coming years as the platforms are becoming more efficient with the help of the data they mined over the years, experts said yesterday.

"Now, e-commerce companies are maturing; we have years of data, and I think efficiency drives will accelerate. Once the tipping point is reached, we will actually become a lower-cost distribution channel," said Waseem Alim, co-founder and CEO of Chaldal.

"Then, the e-commerce boom will happen," he added.

Alim was speaking at a panel discussion at the Bangladesh E-Commerce Summit 2023 at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden. Bangladesh Brand Forum hosted the second edition of the summit.

However, he expressed disappointment over the sluggish progress of the country's e-commerce sector.

"Frankly, I am disappointed by the progress of the e-commerce market in the last 10 years. E-commerce penetration is very low despite Bangladesh being one of the fastest-growing economies with a rising middle class," Alim said.

He identified some reasons for the slower pace of the sector's growth.

First, e-commerce requires two significant types of investment. One is investment in changing consumer behaviour, which in India was done by subsidising cell phones.

The second is low investment in infrastructure, such as building a last-mile delivery service.

"We have been investing in these, but compared to India and similar markets like Indonesia, the investment is minuscule. In India, investment in e-commerce is $70 to $80 per capita but in Bangladesh, it would only be $2 per capita," Alim said.

"Probably, we don't require $80 per capita as we can learn from those markets, but we need at least $10," he added. "As the market evolves, you must provide consumers value with consumer efficiency. Efficiency comes with data. So, now some companies are here that have data to become more efficient."

Alim also said there will be a tipping point at which e-commerce distribution channels will be far less expensive to deliver than regular offline retail because the latter is extremely cumbersome.

Shahriar Hasan, CEO at Paperfly, said online logistics companies in Bangladesh have been able to bring the e-commerce delivery ecosystem up to an acceptable standard, based on which e-commerce sales have thrived in the last 5 years.

This effort from the logistics sector needs to continue further to ensure uninterrupted growth over the next 5 years.

Providing a tech-based nationwide smart delivery service demands following many global standards, which often require good investment and professional processes.

"We must ensure awareness of the importance of using licensed service providers in e-commerce logistics," he added.

Shariful Islam, founder and managing director of Bangladesh Brand Forum, said the e-commerce sector is rapidly growing and frequently develops new innovations and practices.

"It's our responsibility to effectively implement these developments in our e-commerce sector. This platform will touch all integral aspects of modern e-commerce and help the industry grow," he added.

The summit included four keynote sessions, three panel discussions, two insight sessions, two case studies and one policy dialogue covering various topics that encapsulated the idea of e-commerce and its growing influence in Bangladesh.