Saving Beyond the Sale: How Everyday Low Price Is Changing Shopping Habits

On the third day of Ramadan, Sadia realised she had underestimated how quickly household essentials run out during the holy month.

The cooking oil she bought just before Ramadan was already halfway finished. The dishwashing liquid needed replacing sooner than expected. Extra guests at iftar meant more cleaning, more laundry, more groceries, and more frequent restocking.

Like many urban households, Sadia and her husband both working individuals doesn’t get much time to go for shopping and usually wait for major online campaign days to make larger purchases. Electronics, appliances, seasonal fashion those are carefully timed. But Ramadan reminded her of something different, daily essentials do not operate on campaign schedules.

“You can plan for big shopping days,” she says. “But oil or detergent finishing in the middle of the week that’s not something you can delay.”

This gap between event-based savings and everyday consumption is where e-commerce platforms are beginning to refine their value strategies.

For years, Bangladesh’s online retail growth has been powered by mega campaigns wherehigh-traffic sale events that offer substantial discounts across categories. These events continue to deliver strong value for customers looking to maximise savings on bigger purchases.

However, recurring household spending tells another story. Essentials, particularly within FMCG, groceries, personal care and cleaning supplies – are replenished consistently throughout the year. The cumulative cost of these items often outweighs occasional big-ticket purchases.

Recognising this pattern, Daraz has refreshed its Daraz Choice channel with an Everyday Low Price (EDLP) model. Rather than concentrating discounts into limited-time events, EDLP focuses on maintaining consistently lower prices on frequently purchased essentials across the month and throughout the year.

The approach does not replace campaign-day excitement. Instead, it complements it. Mega campaigns remain opportunities for high-impact savings, while EDLP ensures that shoppers are not left waiting for the next event to secure value on everyday necessities.

For consumers like Sadia, this layered strategy changes shopping behavior. Campaigns become moments for planned upgrades. Everyday essentials, meanwhile, can be restocked whenever needed without monitoring countdown timers or anticipating sudden price swings.

Another factor shaping consumer behaviour is budgeting certainty. With inflation influencing household expenses, families are increasingly attentive to repeat spending. When prices fluctuate dramatically between days, forecasting monthly costs becomes difficult. Stable pricing, even if modest rather than dramatic, offers clarity and control.

The EDLP channel is structured to encourage smarter basket building. Customers purchasing three items receive free delivery. Buying five unlocks a free gift with free delivery, subject to availability. Additional vouchers become accessible upon reaching a minimum order value. These mechanisms incentivise consolidated purchasing, helping households reduce delivery frequency while stretching overall value.

Equally significant is fulfilment control. All EDLP items are delivered directly from Daraz’s own monitoring, allowing faster dispatch and more reliable delivery timelines. For essentials, reliability is often as important as price. Delays in receiving daily-use products disrupt routines in ways that go beyond inconvenience.

Ramadan simply magnifies these consumption realities. Increased cooking, hosting and cleaning accelerate spending patterns that exist year-round. Once the month concludes, the need for affordable essentials does not disappear.

As Bangladesh’s e-commerce ecosystem matures, platforms appear to be balancing two complementary value models- event-driven campaign savings and sustained everyday affordability. One generates excitement and peak purchasing moments; the other builds habit and consistency.

Back in her kitchen, Sadia has now set a simple rule for the year ahead. Campaign days are for larger upgrades. Everyday essentials come from a section where the price does not require a countdown timer.

Those who are reassessing their own household spending during Ramadan and throughout the year – the Daraz Choice section featuring Everyday Low Price (EDLP) offers a structured way to plan routine purchases. The channel can be accessed directly through the Daraz app, where a curated selection of high-frequency essentials is grouped in one place.

Instead of waiting for the next campaign announcement, shoppers can browse the EDLP collection ahead of their next restocking cycle, compare prices, and build a bundled basket in one session. Purchasing three or more items unlocks delivery benefits, while larger baskets increase overall savings through added incentives.

In a market once defined by the urgency of flash sales, steady affordability is emerging as a complementary advantage, one that rewards planning as much as timing.