Online business booms ahead of Pahela Baishakh

With Pahela Baishakh, the largest non-religious festival of Bangladesh, approaching, e-commerce sites and F-commerce pages are having a busy time. Targeting the Bangla New Year, online traders are offering huge discounts and cash-back options, helping them register 40 to 50 per cent more orders than usual.

While e-commerce sites and Facebook pages selling Boishakh-themed clothing remain the top choice among buyers, websites and pages selling food items, shoes and other gift items are also logging good sales.  Razib Ahmed, former president of the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB), told The Independent: “The number of orders we get in the Pahela Baishakh week, is equivalent to the amount we get in a month.”       

Citing an example of e-commerce growth, he said last year 30-40 thousand orders were placed each day through online across the country. “But this year, it has doubled to 60-70 thousand per day. So, this statistics show that e-commerce business is growing not only in the capital city, but also across the country,”

Md Injamul Huq, business development executive of ajkerdeal.com, told The Independent: “We generally get around 1,000-1,500 per day which grows to double around this festive time,” Ajkerdeal.com is offering up to 20 per cent cash back on various Baishakhi products, such as saree, panjabi, salwar kameez, T-shirt and kids' apparel. “We are also offering buy 1 get 1 free on certain products,” he said.

Each day, the amount of products being sold in e-commerce is not less than Tk. 200 crore and increasing at 50 per cent a year, said Razib Ahmed. Praising the government for introducing pay bonuses for its staff during Pahela Baishakh since last year, Ahmed said it also helped boost the e-commerce business.

Daraz Bangladesh Ltd (daraz.com.bd) is offering discounts of up to 70 per cent; it is also hosting a Baishakhi Fair from March 28 till April 14. Walton, a local electronics and home appliance manufacturing brand, has set their online stores with numerous products.

Shafiqul Alam, in-charge of the Walton pavilion, said the company manufactured basic raw materials for home appliances, including fridges, televisions and air conditioners, to meet customer demands.

“We have introduced our online stores where all our products are available at the same price. We are giving out Pahela Baishakh offer which is 5 per cent discount on all the products.    

“We are offering discounts of up to 14 per cent on all the TV products of Walton. Air-conditioner replacement offer is going on with 25 per cent discount for this festival. A Tk. 1,000 discount is being offered on all mobile handsets of Walton throughout this week,” said Alam.

Sanjida Haseen, owner of the e-commerce website "ALEYA", told The Independent: “On the occasion of Pahela Baishakh, our main attractions are muslin sarees, which have beautiful embroidery work, and pure silk sarees, with handwork all over. We also showcase Indian branded and Pakistani handwork dresses.”

When asked about the price range, she replied: “It is between Tk. 2,000 and Tk. 12,000.” “I started my business in 2015. Since then, ALEYA has been offering huge collections for Bengali New Year. We expect huge sales this year,” she added.

Customer satisfaction is important for e-commerce companies to do better,  the traders said. Earlier this month, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in a report said Bangladesh is poised to benefit from an e-commerce boost after laying an “exemplary” digital foundation.
Source: http://www.theindependentbd.com

Tags :

Share this news on:

Previous Story

Trending Topics

Archive