Maiden e-commerce summit: Building sustainable ecosystem stressed

Bangladesh needs to build a sustainable e-commerce ecosystem to help the industry grow to its full potential, with consumers continuing to embrace new ways of buying in an ever-expanding digital world, according to experts, retailers, and brands.

Speaking at the first-ever e-commerce summit in the country, organised by the Bangladesh Brand Forum at a city hotel on Saturday, stakeholders shared their knowledge of the key trends in the e-commerce industry. They also stressed the need for restoring consumers' trust in the e-commerce sector by providing quality products and better services.

Bangladesh foresees a very keen prospect regarding the flourishing of e-commerce based on efficiency and ease of access revolving around it, said Shariful Islam, founder and managing director of the brand forum.

Building a mature e-commerce ecosystem will ensure a brighter future for this industry, he added.

The brand forum organised the event, in association with eCourier and The Business Standard. Presented by Daraz, and powered by Dotlines, the summit was aimed at unlocking the true potential of the country's e-commerce market.

The summit hosted three keynote sessions, three panel discussions, four insight sessions, two case studies, one fireside chat, and one deep dive session.

The e-commerce sector has not yet realised its potential in the country, and the biggest reason behind this is a lack of domestic brands, especially beauty products, said Shinthia Sharmin Islam, co-founder and CCO, Shajgoj Limited, at a panel discussion, "From heart to cart: Creating a love language between products and people", at the summit.

At present, less than 1% of the people in the country buy beauty products online, she said, predicting that at least 15% of people will buy beauty products online by 2030.

"We are delivering about 5,000-6,000 orders every day from our e-commerce site, and 90% of them are women. Three of us girls started our online platform."

She emphasised the need for patience and innovative ideas in succeeding in e-commerce business. "If one starts an e-commerce business, one must wait patiently for 5 to 10 years. There will be various problems. We have to take new steps to deal with them."

In order to gain the trust of online customers, one has to provide product details with each product, she said, adding, "You have to attach more importance to customer care than to your own business. We send some gifts with each box of ordered products and write something that emotionally touches customers."

Morin Talukder, founder and CEO of Pickaboo.com, said, "We started our online mobile sales activities in 2016. At first, we faced many problems, but the challenge was to gain the trust of the customers. So far, we have done that. People are getting genuine products from our platform."

Hundreds of change-makers, e-commerce experts, established retailers, and e-commerce enthusiasts attended the e-commerce summit.

This year, the summit, with the theme "Revitalising the E-commerce Industry", also explored how the Covid pandemic has changed the landscape of the industry in Bangladesh.