E-commerce payments see 26% growth ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr

Electronic payment from conventional banks to e-commerce platforms have increased nearly 26% year-on-year ahead of Eid-ul Fitr, as people increasingly turn to online shopping to avoid the hassles of traffic and cash transactions.

The electronic transaction through banks recorded Tk17 billion during this year’s peak season for Eid-ul Fitr, which was Tk13.5 billion from 15 March to 10 April last year, according to the E-commerce Association of Bangladesh (E-Cab).

The trade body conducted the survey in association with BreakBite E-Business.

“E-commerce platforms have recorded around 20% growth on this Eid-ul-Fitr compared to this festival last year. Consumers seemed to prefer electronics on this Eid,” Asif Ahnaf, finance secretary at E-Cab, told the Daily Sun.

Customers are more into buying fridges, air conditioners this year due to the heat wave across the country, according to the official.

E-commerce platform Priyoshop’s Chief Executive Officer Asikul Alam Khan mentioned that Ramadan and Eid serve as major festivals in the country, fostering connections among people.

“Customers enthusiastically engaged in shopping for Ramadan and Eid, leading to increased sales volumes for B2B e-commerce platforms like Priyoshop compared to previous months,” he added.

“Retailers predominantly purchased daily essentials such as rice, lentils, sugar, oil, chickpeas, and dates.”

“We hope that this upward trend will persist in the following months as we further cultivate strong relationships with our retail customers,” Asikul Alam, also co-chairman at BASIS standing committee on digital commerce, told the Daily Sun.

The e-commerce companies registered around 20% growth year-on-year in terms of volume. The online shopper transacted around Tk28 billion using mobile financial service (MFS) providers.

E-commerce companies have made over 25 million shipments during the shopping tagged Eid-ul Fitr which was 20 million units last year, the survey revealed.

E-commerce has emerged as a new window of opportunity for Bangladeshi businesses in the last two years as the global pandemic has triggered a boom in e-commerce in the country and around the world.

Some 2,800 e-commerce companies are now affiliated with the trade body in Bangladesh while 200,000 platforms worked through Facebook ahead of Eid this year.