Despite the enormous potential and easy market access, e-commerce is not receiving due attention in Pakistan, particularly in the post-COVID-19 arena. Only one billion dollars a year is derived from the global e-commerce market by a major country like Pakistan, worth billions of dollars.
Interestingly, one week of a single company’s sales volume, Amazon.Com is equivalent to Pakistan’s annual exports, i.e $24.5 billion. Of the textile items sold on Amazon.Com, 50 to 70% are sourced from Pakistan. The question is why exporters are stuck with a business model when they can gain more through an e-commerce business-to-consumer model.
The sales amount of a single business, Amazon.Com, for one week is equal to Pakistan’s annual exports.
According to the experts, there was a huge market in the world for Pakistani textile products, lamps, sporting goods, surgical equipment, cosmetics, sunglasses and cell phone accessories, and the consumer e-commerce model was the suitable choice to increase exports and boost the fragile economy. It takes an hour to promote exchange apps such as PayPal, fast internet facilities, incorporate e-Commerce into the syllabus, carry Amazon.Com to Pakistan and educate/encourage/facilitate young people to take part in the country’s economic growth. “That’s a huge global industry. A major change will bring state patronage. In order to earn and play a proper role in the country’s development, young people need to be informed and prepared. Via e-commerce, one businessman in Sialkot and another in Faisalabad earn more than a million every month. It is important to encourage/enable more individuals to come forward,’ said Saqib Azhar, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Enablers, who recently met President Dr Arif Alvi to discuss e-commerce promotion in Pakistan.
“It was very encouraging to speak with the President. In supporting e-commerce, he (the President) looked serious. This year, we will make efforts to bring Amazon.com to Pakistan, set up e-Commerce chambers and encourage higher education,” he said, adding that his institution offered degrees in e-Commerce.” As Amazon.com does not provide services in Pakistan, Enabler Sellers Dashboard could be used by businessmen to advertise their goods on the largest online shopping website, he said.