Business Desk :
OLX, the global leader in online classifieds, and global market research firm MetrixLab today revealed the results of a new research. The study shows that Internet users in Bangladesh hold a whopping 105 million used goods, illustrating the potential for OLX’s growth in the region.
OLX is an Argentina headquartered global leader in online classifieds present in 105 countries. It is among the most popular C2C online marketplaces in the world offering users the opportunity to sell goods and services by posting Ads for free. The website is used to sell anything from cars, motorcycles, mobile phones, and furniture, to home electronics, computers, clothing, and books among several others items.
The research estimates the total value of goods stocked by Bangladesh’s Internet users to be 147 Billion BDT (1.9 Billion USD), enough to cover two-third of Bangladesh’s trade deficit. The research surveyed only Internet users in Bangladesh, suggesting that the estimated size of the used good market in the country is much higher. The research was conducted among male and female Internet users between the ages of 18 and 65 years old across six divisions of the country.
“E-commerce, especially consumer-to-consumer classifieds sales, are still nascent in the region, explaining why so many in Bangladesh hold on to used goods, which they have no use for,” said Alec Oxenford, Co-Founder and CEO, OLX. “What gives OLX an edge in Bangladesh is our global experience, understanding of the users, and a track record of fulfilling user needs of selling and buying goods across 105 countries. Classifieds offer immense value to users – not least because they pump money into the local economy.”
OLX launched its Bangladesh operation in August of 2013, with a first television campaign airing in October 2013. The response has been significant; in just 8 months, OLX.com.bd has reached more than 2,25,000 Ads on the site. Among the items most stocked in Bangladesh are mobile phones, clothes, books, furniture and home electronics. The average cost of each item was estimated to be 1400 BDT (18 USD).
