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E-commerce’s New Year resolution:

REGAIN CUSTOMER TRUST
Industry people say acquiring new customers has become difficult, call for policy support for sector’s revival
MAHMUDUL HASAN
Regaining customers’ trust will be the major challenge for Bangladesh’s e-commerce sector in this new year of 2022.
Most of the outgoing year was marred with scams and controversies, leaving thousands in uncertainty over the recovery of thousands of crores of taka.
It stalled the substantial growth achieved by the sector, which even went well over 50 per cent amidst the pandemic, over the last couple of years.
Stakeholders said widespread mistrust was now making it difficult for online platforms to acquire new customers.
People are increasingly opting for the cash on delivery option, undercutting the country’s efforts to bolster digital transactions and go cashless, they said.
“Our main challenge in 2022 is to gain customers’ trust,” Waseem Alim, CEO of local online grocery store Chaldal, told The Daily Star.
“The failure of some platforms to honour commitments has now stalled growth significantly. So, we have to maintain our commitment to gain the trust,” he said.
Commitment here refers to delivering exactly the same products shown to customers on websites, making deliveries on time and putting a stop to the malpractice of not delivering products against advance payments, he added.
The e-commerce sector went through turbulent times since the beginning of 2021.
An increasing number of Evaly customers started filing complaints with the Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection (DNCRP), saying they were not getting products despite making payments months back.
However, the grave scenario of the sector started to surface when a Bangladesh Bank inspection, conducted at the commerce ministry’s request, came to the fore in the middle of the year.
It found Evaly’s liability to customers and merchants to be manifold compared to its assets.
Afterwards, scams started to unfold one after another involving platforms E-orange, Qcoom, Dhamaka, Aladinerprodip, Sirajganj Shop, Alesha Mart, Dalal Plus, etc.
All of the platforms emulated Evaly’s business model -- luring customers with hefty discounts, sometimes even more than 50 per cent, to make advance payments.
Now, thousands of customers are in uncertainty over whether they would ever get their money back.
As for platforms that had built up a good reputation over the years with sound business practices, availing growth is now an uphill battle.
“The impact of the damage that was done in 2021 in e-commerce will linger this year. If honesty, integrity and a healthy environment can be ensured in the market, the platforms will recover,” said AKM Fahim Mashroor, CEO of AjkerDeal.