M M Jasim :
The volume of online Eid shopping has almost doubled this year compared to the previous year, according to the online market insiders.
The buyers’ interest to buy the Eid products from online is to avoid nagging traffic jam and mad rush at shopping malls, they said.
Razib Ahmed, President of the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh, said, “We discussed with more than 50 e-commerce companies about the market situation. Everyone admitted that they were doing better business during this Eid season than the previous year.”
He noted that accurate figures on online sales are hard to come by as most of the payments are made in cash upon delivery of products.
Sadek Hasan of Bangladesh Brands said they could deliver not only inside the country, but also anywhere on the globe within five days. Before Eid, their orders have increased substantially, he said.
Riding on the rapid growth of the internet and mobile phone use across the country, around 500 e-commerce sites and more than 3,000 Facebook-based traders are now selling goods online.
As most of the e-commerce sites are based on Facebook, advertisements for products on the popular social networking site have also gone up in recent times.
Kanta Rahman, a private service holder, said that she bought salwar-kameez and sari for herself, shirt and pant for her husband, dresses for her kids and also salwar-kameez for her maid from an online shopping centre.
“I prefer the online shopping because it saves me the trouble of getting stuck in tailbacks for hours and haggling with sellers over price,” she said.
She, however, admitted that she missed the excitement of Eid shopping at malls and markets.
“It is quite exciting to buy directly from markets or shopping malls but I have time constraint,” said Kanta, who receives most of the purchased goods at her office in Tejgaon.
Meanwhile, the non-resident Bangladeshis are also doing Eid shopping for their loved ones back home through online stores of the country’s leading brands.
Arif Hossain, a non-resident Bangladeshi in USA, has already done Eid shopping for his family by placing orders on Aarong, a leading lifestyle retailer in the country.
He bought saris for his mother and fashionable dresses for his younger brother and sister. Much to his delight, Aarong has already sent the items to his hometown of Noakhali.
“E-commerce platform gives us the opportunity to do shopping even from USA for my family members in Bangladesh,” Arif told The New Nation over the phone.
Aarong and several other reputed brands said half of their orders come from non-resident Bangladeshis, and this is the specialty of this year’s Eid shopping on the e-commerce platform.
“I am quite surprised to see that more than 50 per cent of our online orders have been placed from abroad ahead of this year’s Eid,” said Mohammad Abdur Rouf, Chief Operating Officer of Aarong.
Sabera Anwar, Chief Executive Officer of Panache Events that sells high-end dresses, said more than 30 per cent of their buyers are non-resident Bangladeshis.
While visiting some online shops, it was found that traders also decorated their shops like the regular shops and displayed products suitable for the festival.
Some online shops launched just before Eid to take advantage of the festival business.
“We started our journey just two weeks ago of the Eid-ul-Fitr in 2013, and now we are selling different types of dresses before Eid,” said Shahinul Islam, Marketing Manager of MarketA2Z.com.
The volume of online Eid shopping has almost doubled this year compared to the previous year, according to the online market insiders.
The buyers’ interest to buy the Eid products from online is to avoid nagging traffic jam and mad rush at shopping malls, they said.
Razib Ahmed, President of the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh, said, “We discussed with more than 50 e-commerce companies about the market situation. Everyone admitted that they were doing better business during this Eid season than the previous year.”
He noted that accurate figures on online sales are hard to come by as most of the payments are made in cash upon delivery of products.
Sadek Hasan of Bangladesh Brands said they could deliver not only inside the country, but also anywhere on the globe within five days. Before Eid, their orders have increased substantially, he said.
Riding on the rapid growth of the internet and mobile phone use across the country, around 500 e-commerce sites and more than 3,000 Facebook-based traders are now selling goods online.
As most of the e-commerce sites are based on Facebook, advertisements for products on the popular social networking site have also gone up in recent times.
Kanta Rahman, a private service holder, said that she bought salwar-kameez and sari for herself, shirt and pant for her husband, dresses for her kids and also salwar-kameez for her maid from an online shopping centre.
“I prefer the online shopping because it saves me the trouble of getting stuck in tailbacks for hours and haggling with sellers over price,” she said.
She, however, admitted that she missed the excitement of Eid shopping at malls and markets.
“It is quite exciting to buy directly from markets or shopping malls but I have time constraint,” said Kanta, who receives most of the purchased goods at her office in Tejgaon.
Meanwhile, the non-resident Bangladeshis are also doing Eid shopping for their loved ones back home through online stores of the country’s leading brands.
Arif Hossain, a non-resident Bangladeshi in USA, has already done Eid shopping for his family by placing orders on Aarong, a leading lifestyle retailer in the country.
He bought saris for his mother and fashionable dresses for his younger brother and sister. Much to his delight, Aarong has already sent the items to his hometown of Noakhali.
“E-commerce platform gives us the opportunity to do shopping even from USA for my family members in Bangladesh,” Arif told The New Nation over the phone.
Aarong and several other reputed brands said half of their orders come from non-resident Bangladeshis, and this is the specialty of this year’s Eid shopping on the e-commerce platform.
“I am quite surprised to see that more than 50 per cent of our online orders have been placed from abroad ahead of this year’s Eid,” said Mohammad Abdur Rouf, Chief Operating Officer of Aarong.
Sabera Anwar, Chief Executive Officer of Panache Events that sells high-end dresses, said more than 30 per cent of their buyers are non-resident Bangladeshis.
While visiting some online shops, it was found that traders also decorated their shops like the regular shops and displayed products suitable for the festival.
Some online shops launched just before Eid to take advantage of the festival business.
“We started our journey just two weeks ago of the Eid-ul-Fitr in 2013, and now we are selling different types of dresses before Eid,” said Shahinul Islam, Marketing Manager of MarketA2Z.com.
