Amazon, the largest international eCommerce marketplace, should start direct shipping in Bangladesh.

Shopping malls and retailers are passing very critical time. Many branded shops are shut down or about to be closed. Endemic shops are somehow surviving and fighting for existence. COVID 19 brings the changes in this sector.  Online shopping was not too popular even two years ago. A good number of traders started online shops thinking to have achieved success. Many of those were closed after few months and few were merged with relatively larger ones. It is not a splinter situation rather a common setting in the planet now. Kaymu, a chain online marketplace, had to close their business in Dhaka and merge with Daraz a few years back. Daraz was one of the leading online shops from its beginning and became largest ecommerce platform in South Asia. It had to face the crisis and was purchased by Alibaba Group. People like to shop by checking the market physically. They do not like to stay idle to order products to online shops and receive those without seeing and checking. Shopping is a matter of entertainment and enjoyment. People can move around the city with family members with a view to purchasing their needs comparing sizes, shapes, beauties and prices. This is the way to customize satisfaction. General concept is ‘Seeing is Believing’. But Corona subdues human instinct and restrains them in homes. Online marketplaces have occupied the privilege and captured the market of mainstream shopping.

Number of online marketplaces is huge and a large portion of those are new. It becomes the mainstream shopping now. We are largely dependent on the passive shopping. Situation is such that we have no other options to enjoy shopping. Feeble ecommerce places have bloomed to youth and many freshers joined with those. Chain shops have to start online marketing to survive in the situation. They are doing well for their reputations. Communities do not have equal opportunity as these chain shops are operating from their outlets. So peoples around the outlets can have shopping from the dependable marketplaces.  We have to depend on the available ones irrespective of their qualities and impressions. It is noteworthy that they do not have their own outlets or stores. They collect products from retailers to supply after receiving online orders from consumers. It becomes a time-consuming shopping system. They can not meet the emergency of the customers.  Chain shops having their own outlets can supply within 2-3 hours. Online shops which have long days experience become leading in the market. They can not meet the emergency also. 

Shops are trying to reduce delivering time. Chaldal is maximizing their business with good impression as it started to deliver product within minimum time. Because of their previous reputation they are now prominently doing their business. Food Panda, a Berlin-based company, is also in a favorite position. It was mostly limited within supplying of fast food.  In this changed situation, they started their complete grocery market. Bikroy.com is a different type of online marketplace. It is the largest in this sector. From the beginning it has buying and selling options. Rokomary.com has no change in their volume of business as it sells only books. Shadmart sells products importing from China. It does not sell local products or Chinese products available here. People can place orders seeing their dashboard and it will add shipping cost. It sends the products to the doorsteps addressing C&F and airport procedures. Pickaboo, a marketplace having its own store, sells products in local currency.

Alibaba, considered to be the second in Asia after Tencent, started its business in Bangladesh few years ago. Through its AliExpress it supplies products as per the considerations of the customers. It has worldwide business and achieved 6th global position. It has dual business in Bangladesh. Its sister concerned, Daraz, sells products collecting from local market and AliExpress brings everything from abroad. Bangladesh, a market of 160 million people, becomes the attraction for the international online marketplaces. eBay, a US ecommerce marketplace, is in the market here having competition with others. Amazon is the world largest online marketplace. It becomes the most favorite brand in the world. It has its own product line along with third-party products. It never sells low quality products if taken from local market. Everyone loves to have a product with Amazon insignia. Amazon should consider a market of 160 million people and start direct shipping here. We love to have Amazon products shipped by them to our doorsteps as other world-famous online markets are doing. Now we can have Amazon products from party shippers which is often time consuming and more expensive.  We hope to see Amazon vibrant in Bangladesh.