Card e-commerce spending falls in April

Consumers spent 7.45% less on e-commerce purchases using cards in April compared with March, according to data from Bangladesh Bank, as businesses blame the long-term dollar crisis and persistently high inflation for dragging on economic growth.

In April, total e-commerce spending through cards was Tk 15.89 billion, down from Tk 17.17 billion in March.

Bangladesh Bank data shows that the value of e-commerce transactions in recent months has fluctuated: Taka 15.85 billion in October 2023, Taka 16.22 billion in November 2023, Taka 15.63 billion in December 2023, Taka 16.48 billion in January 2024 and Taka 15.55 billion in February 2024.

E-commerce in Bangladesh relies on debit and credit card transactions.

The number of card transactions for e-commerce purchases also fell in April, falling to 4.98 million from 5.38 million in March.

Stakeholders said high inflation rates and the ongoing dollar crisis were behind recent fluctuations in e-commerce card transactions.

Still, they expected both the number and volume of transactions to continue to grow, citing the recent e-commerce boom following a series of scams.

A growing online shopping community, a large number of young people and wide access to the Internet make the country a promising market for global e-commerce giants.

A recent study points to Bangladesh’s potential for significant growth in e-commerce transactions, attributing this trend to the exponential growth in internet usage.

The study predicts a steady 10 percent quarterly growth in recent years and a bright future for the industry. The 2016 UNCTAD B2C e-commerce index showed that Bangladesh is among the top ten economies in terms of the gap between the predicted and actual number of online shoppers.

This statistic confirms the country’s importance in the global e-commerce market.

Jahangir Alam Shovon, executive director of the Electronic Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB), said the number of e-commerce transactions through cards is not growing steadily due to the current higher inflation and dollar crisis.

He noted that due to the dollar crisis, there were delays in deliveries of some imported products.

“Currently, the e-commerce market size in the country is Tk 450 billion and it is expected to touch Tk 500 billion by the end of 2024,” Mr Shovon said, adding that daily shipments across the country are now at 1.0 million.

Mr Shovon added that e-commerce growth is slowing from 2022.

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