Daraz.pk, Pakistan’s largest online marketplace, said on Sunday that its e-commerce and digital sales registered a huge increase during the Covid-19 pandemic while its online orders increased by nine times since March.
In Mid March, the government imposed lockdowns throughout the country to control the spread of the coronavirus. Since then business activities remain partially suspended in the country, which has reduced physical accessibility for shoppers leading to a switch towards e-commerce.
As per a report published in Arab News, Daraz.pk’s online orders have grown by nine times since March.
“We have received an overwhelming response… our data shows that online orders have grown by nine times [since March],” said Daraz.pk Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Muhammad Ammar Hassan while talking to Arab News.
According to the Daraz.pk CMO, the company is experiencing a 100 per cent year on year growth in each item.
On the contrary, as per the report, currently only 21 per cent of Pakistani adults possess bank transaction accounts which remains a hurdle in the move towards online shopping and e-commerce in the country.
However, despite the low penetration of bank accounts, sales of local and international e-commerce merchants in Pakistan increased from Rs20.7 billion in 2017 to Rs40.1 billion in 2018, as per the Ministry of Commerce.
On the other hand, While e-commerce experiences a boost in the country, it has come at an expense of brick and mortar stores.
According to the report, footfall in shopping malls and stores across the country has reduced by 80 per cent, whereas brick and mortar stores experienced a decline of 60 per cent in sales since March.
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