E-COMMERCE LANDSCAPE IN BANGLADESH: A CROSS-COUNTRY ANALYSIS

Abstract

In Bangladesh, millions of people now have access to the internet. This enables huge growth opportunity for both B2C and B2B e-commerce in the country. But the role of the internet in trade and commerce is still inadequate. Some other countries, which have started using internet at the same time period as Bangladesh, have progressed a lot in the field of e-commerce adoption whereas, Bangladesh is still lagging behind. Therefore, this study focuses on analyzing the current e-commerce adoption of the nation in comparison with some selected countries. To measure the position of Bangladesh, data were collected from secondary sources to make a comparison using three established indices. An FGD, composing e-commerce industry experts, was conducted to discuss and finalize the findings. The study found that, in almost all the indicators, Bangladesh’s position is lower than most of the countries compared (either lowest or second lowest). The research also found factors, such as, poor infrastructure, digital divide, low internet security, lack of awareness, poor service delivery, etc., that obstruct achieving the expected growth in e-commerce. Thus, the study sets the foundation for future researches to be done in the field of e-commerce adoption in Bangladesh.