Eid and Corona Virus
Eid and Corona Virus:
online portals to maintain social distance
Markets and shops across the country have been closed due to lockouts caused by the Corona virus, leading to an increase in online shopping.
Ijaz Sheikh, the head of a family of five, used to buy Eid from the bazaar before Ramadan in previous years. However, due to the closure of shops and markets due to the corona virus this year, they decided to make this purchase online.
Ejaz Sheikh's family spends Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000 every year on Ramadan, in addition to Iftar and Sehri, on Eid on new clothes and shoes. However, this year, according to Ijaz Sheikh, there may be some reduction in the amount spent on shopping for Eid.
"If you like something on the spot when you go shopping in the market, you buy it too, but that doesn't happen in online shopping," he says.
Ejaz Sheikh says he used to buy a little bit online sometimes before but this year he will do all the shopping online.
What will be the habits adopted during the lockdown?
Corona epidemic and online business
Markets and shops are closed due to lockdowns across the country caused by the corona virus. Under such circumstances, the trend of online shopping has increased in the country and the business of online companies has increased.
The trend has benefited large companies that have the manpower needed to deliver orders, rather than individual online businesses.
Online shopping
According to Daraz Ammar Hassan, Chief Marketing Officer, the company has received six times more orders since the lockdown began.
These companies benefited twice after the lockdown. On the one hand, they are regularly receiving orders for clothes, shoes and other items, while on the other hand, orders for masks, hand sanitizers, necessities, fruits and vegetables have also increased.
Following the Corona virus, Draz, a major online shopping company in Pakistan, saw an increase in orders. The company received 36% more orders in March than in February, which led to a more than 50% increase in sales.
According to Daraz Chief Marketing Officer Ammar Hassan, the company has received six times more orders since the lockdown began.
Lockdown Due to the growing trend of online shopping, the company sometimes has difficulty in fulfilling these orders and sometimes has to stop receiving online orders.
Online grocery sales alone are expected to increase by 70% in April, according to data provided by Draz.
A quarter of the world's population shop online
Online business in Pakistan started late compared to the rest of the world, but the last few years have seen an increase.
According to the e-commerce policy framework of the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan, the trend of online business in the country is still new compared to the world, which is gradually increasing.
Online shopping
Due to the growing trend of online shopping due to lockdown, the company sometimes has difficulty in fulfilling these orders and sometimes has to stop receiving online orders.
According to the United Nations Office on Trade and Development, the volume of online business in the world is more than twenty-five trillion dollars and a quarter of the world's population uses online shopping.
According to the United Nations, the world is witnessing a steady increase in online business and shopping trends, which will further increase the social distance caused by the corona virus.
In comparison, according to the statistics of the State Bank of Pakistan in the country, its volume is 100 billion rupees, but this volume is much less than the capacity of online business in the country. The country is expected to see an increase of about 30% this year.
Ammar Hassan says the effects of the corona virus are not going to go away any time soon, which is why the government will try to stop people from going to social distance and crowded places.
In this regard, online shopping is one way to stop the spread of Corona, which will lead to an increase in e-commerce.
According to a research by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, more than 70 million people in Pakistan use the Internet, of which more than 60 million use high-speed 3G and 4G internet services.
However, online shopping is still very limited in Pakistan in terms of its capacity due to the low use of digital methods in the financial system and the lack of literacy required for online business transactions.
In this regard, experts say that there will be more than 100 billion rupees worth of transactions in the online business in the country, but instead of digital payment, people pay cash on delivery, which is not included in the banking system.
About 70-75% of online business people are young
The Corona virus has boosted the business of online companies, while individual online businesses have been affected by the lockdown.
Online shopping
According to the United Nations, the world is witnessing a steady increase in online business and shopping, which will further increase the social distance caused by the corona virus.
Seventy to seventy-five percent of online business people are young because of their ability to run online applications with online marketing skills.
These individuals are mostly involved in the online business of clothing, mobile phone products, watches, lenses, shoes, cosmetics and other items.
According to the policy framework of the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan, more than 60% of the country's population consists of young people who are more capable of adopting technology.
Kashif Mehmood, a student at a Karachi university, does a limited amount of online cosmetics and synthetic jewelery work at home, but the popular Bolton market in Karachi is completely closed these days.
Kashif says that if the lockdown is relaxed, he will be able to deliver some orders by Eid and in case of hardship, like Sha'ban, he will not be able to earn anything during the month of Ramadan.
Amir Zeb, who made a living from online business during the Islamic months of Sha'ban and Ramadan last year, earned twice as much as the normal months.
Amir Zeb has orders before the arrival of Ramadan this year and in the month of Sha'ban, but he is unable to deliver them.
According to 27-year-old Amir, who has been involved in online trade in Karachi for four years, his earnings of Rs 34,000 in normal months almost doubled in those two months. However, during these months of the year, they have been unable to fulfill their customers' orders due to a lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of the corona virus.
Online shopping
Market closures due to corona virus have left shopkeepers and traders fearful of a drop in Eid sales this year compared to previous years.
Karachi's largest markets have been closed since mid-March. Amir Zeb is involved in online sales of lady lenses and watches.
While sales of online companies are on the rise, the closure of markets due to the Corona virus has left shopkeepers and traders fearful of a drop in Eid sales this year compared to previous years.
Online shopping has become a necessity
Atiq Mir, chairman of the All Karachi Traders' Union, said that in the current situation, online shopping has become a compulsion in connection with the closure of markets due to the corona virus and the growing trend of online shopping.
He said that online business is emerging in a better shape in Pakistan and corona virus has made the conditions more conducive for it.
Atiq Mir estimates that 20 to 25 percent of Eid purchases this year will go from offline to online.
He said that every year shopkeepers and traders used to place orders three months before Eid but this year these orders could not be placed due to closure of factories and mills.
Atiq Mir said that last year in Karachi alone, an estimated purchase of Rs. 35-35 billion was made, which is expected to fall to Rs. 20 billion this year.
According to Mir, rising inflation in Pakistan has reduced the purchasing power of the people and made a significant difference in the purchase of Ramadan and Eid in the last four to five years.
He said that purchases in Karachi from Rs 70 billion in 2015 to Rs 35 billion in 2019 have been further reduced this year due to Corona and some of this will also go to online shopping. ۔
Mahmood Hamid, president of the All Pakistan Alliance of Small Traders and Cottage Industries, said that it was difficult to estimate the number of Ramadan and Eid purchases across the country due to the lack of a mechanism.
He confirmed the trend of consumers shifting towards online shopping due to Corona virus. However, according to Mahmood Hamid, despite the closure of markets due to Corona, the trend of online shopping could not increase much because Pakistan is still A large segment of the population is not well acquainted with e-commerce and digital payment methods.
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