Gala time for f-commerce

With just two products—custom-made saris brought directly from weavers in Tangail and designer floral bedsheets—Gift Hampers BD, a Facebook-based boutique business, started small, but the response it has received, especially during this Eid season, is huge.
“We believe in quality over quantity,” said Papya Jubair Rahman, a doctor by profession, who started this business out of passion. “I know that’s clichéd, but at Gift Hampers BD, we mean it,” she said.
When asked why people would opt for their products when there were hundreds of other Facebook pages offering saris and bedsheets, she said that they are also catering to a specific need of the buyers, besides high-quality products.
“You can realise from the name of our business that we aim to fulfil your urge of giving gifts to your loved ones; so, all our products come inside designer boxes, exclusively designed by us. That’s the unique selling point (USP) of Gift Hampers BD.”
She added that the price range of products was important, too. “All of our saris and bed-sheets are within Tk 2,000 and we provide free home delivery. I worked out the costing of my products based on a little survey that I conducted. In case of giving gifts during Eid, people usually like to keep their expenses within that limit,” she said.
While Papya serves people’s need of giving gifts to someone, Sanjeeda Haseen, owner of another Facebook-based business, Aleya, caters to people’s urge to wear trendy clothes.
Her ‘designer gowns’—in the price range Tk 2,500–Tk 6,000—has become a hit, generating a good response from the customers. “In this competitive market, you have to give something unique to your customers. Otherwise, it will be hard to retain them,” she said.
 
Spring time
Like Papya and Sanjeeda, hundreds other small-scale Facebook-based businesses are having busy time selling their products ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, the largest religious festival of Bangladesh.
The month of Ramadan, also the month of sacrifice, is also the time of the year when people allow themselves to indulge in a shopping spree. This is time when the highest amount of money is transacted in the market.
Cashing in on this phenomenon, many business flourish, especially the small-scale ones that started with a Facebook page and a modest number of followers. Most of these Facebook-based businesses sell product like clothes, shoes and handbags, and most of them are owned by women entrepreneurs.
Talking to The Independent, Nadia Tabassum, owner of Six Yards—a boutique house selling designer saris—said that one does not need anything more than a Facebook page to start a garment boutique business these days.
“Just 10 years ago, if a woman like me wanted to start a boutique house, she would need to rent a place and spend a significant amount on marketing. Now, there is no need to have a physical store. You can post the products’ pictures on Facebook and, if they are good and unique, the customer base will automatically grow because of the viral factor,” she said.
Nadia said that Eid-ul-Fitr is the biggest occasion for small scale boutique owners. “All of us want to wear something unique and trendy during Eid. Of course, there are large fashion houses and brand names to cater to that need but, in my opinion, the small-scale boutique houses serve that need better.”
 
Happy customers
Zania Hoque, an airline employee, told The Independent that for this Eid, she bought her dresses from a Facebook-based boutique house.
“Because of my busy schedule and incessant rains this season, I couldn’t go out for shopping. So, I opted to buy clothing online,” she said.
Khadija Afrin, a teacher in an English-medium school, too, bought her clothes from an f-commerce site. When asked why, she said that, now, with a smartphone in hand, there was no need spend extra time doing shopping.
“I bought my dress while I was stuck inside a CNG-driven auto. I was stuck in the traffic and I was browsing through different Facebook pages selling clothes. I loved one dress so much that I immediately ordered it,” she said.
Khadija said that it was true that the charm of roaming in a shopping mall before Eid cannot be replaced with shopping through a smartphone. “But I think this type of shopping has its own charm. Finding a good deal while sitting in the comfort of your home is no less good than striking a bargain at a physical store,” she said.
 
Rising trend
The country's first-ever National F-commerce Survey, undertaken by GEEKY Social, revealed that a significant 6 per cent of businesses are logging sales of more than Tk 100,000 per month.
Interestingly, in terms of promotion, most of the businesses are not yet very savvy users of Facebook's ‘paid reach’ mechanism. Promotion, to them, largely means one or two posts per day from their Facebook pages.
The survey found that the f-commerce sector was still low on legal registration and compliance, as evident from a staggering 77 per cent of the businesses being either sole-proprietorship or partnership ventures.
Rajib Ahmed, of the E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (ECAB), told The Independent that the women-driven f-commerce sites were growing in a geometric progression. “They are serving the needs of thousands of people,” he said.
He said that most of f-commerce based businesses were still running their businesses like cottage industries. “I believe that like the way we brought all e-commerce business under the umbrella of one association, we need to bring all f-commerce businesses under one to take the sector forward.”

 

 

Gala time for f-commerce

With just two productscustom-made saris brought directly from weavers in Tangail and designer floral bedsheetsGift Hampers BD, a Facebook-based boutique business, started small, but the response it has received, especially during this Eid season, is huge. We believe in quality over quantity, said Papya Jubair Rahman, a doctor by profession, who started this business out of passion. I know thats clichd, but at Gift Hampers BD, we mean it, she said. When asked why people would opt for their products when there were hundreds of other Facebook pages offering saris and bedsheets, she said that they are also catering to a specific need of the buyers, besides high-quality products. You can realise from the name of our business that we aim to fulfil your urge of giving gifts to your loved ones; so, all our products come inside designer boxes, exclusively designed by us. Thats the unique selling point (USP) of Gift Hampers BD. She added that the price range of products was important, too. All of our saris and bed-sheets are within Tk 2,000 and we provide free home delivery. I worked out the costing of my products based on a little survey that I conducted. In case of giving gifts during Eid, people usually like to keep their expenses within that limit, she said. While Papya serves peoples need of giving gifts to someone, Sanjeeda Haseen, owner of another Facebook-based business, Aleya, caters to peoples urge to wear trendy clothes. Her designer gownsin the price range Tk 2,500Tk 6,000has become a hit, generating a good response from the customers. In this competitive market, you have to give something unique to your customers. Otherwise, it will be hard to retain them, she said. Spring time Like Papya and Sanjeeda, hundreds other small-scale Facebook-based businesses are having busy time selling their products ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, the largest religious festival of Bangladesh. The month of Ramadan, also the month of sacrifice, is also the time of the year when people allow themselves to indulge in a shopping spree. This is time when the highest amount of money is transacted in the market. Cashing in on this phenomenon, many business flourish, especially the small-scale ones that started with a Facebook page and a modest number of followers. Most of these Facebook-based businesses sell product like clothes, shoes and handbags, and most of them are owned by women entrepreneurs. Talking to The Independent, Nadia Tabassum, owner of Six Yardsa boutique house selling designer sarissaid that one does not need anything more than a Facebook page to start a garment boutique business these days. Just 10 years ago, if a woman like me wanted to start a boutique house, she would need to rent a place and spend a significant amount on marketing. Now, there is no need to have a physical store. You can post the products pictures on Facebook and, if they are good and unique, the customer base will automatically grow because of the viral factor, she said. Nadia said that Eid-ul-Fitr is the biggest occasion for small scale boutique owners. All of us want to wear something unique and trendy during Eid. Of course, there are large fashion houses and brand names to cater to that need but, in my opinion, the small-scale boutique houses serve that need better. Happy customers Zania Hoque, an airline employee, told The Independent that for this Eid, she bought her dresses from a Facebook-based boutique house. Because of my busy schedule and incessant rains this season, I couldnt go out for shopping. So, I opted to buy clothing online, she said. Khadija Afrin, a teacher in an English-medium school, too, bought her clothes from an f-commerce site. When asked why, she said that, now, with a smartphone in hand, there was no need spend extra time doing shopping. I bought my dress while I was stuck inside a CNG-driven auto. I was stuck in the traffic and I was browsing through different Facebook pages selling clothes. I loved one dress so much that I immediately ordered it, she said. Khadija said that it was true that the charm of roaming in a shopping mall before Eid cannot be replaced with shopping through a smartphone. But I think this type of shopping has its own charm. Finding a good deal while sitting in the comfort of your home is no less good than striking a bargain at a physical store, she said. Rising trend The countrys first-ever National F-commerce Survey, undertaken by GEEKY Social, revealed that a significant 6 per cent of businesses are logging sales of more than Tk 100,000 per month. Interestingly, in terms of promotion, most of the businesses are not yet very savvy users of Facebooks paid reach mechanism. Promotion, to them, largely means one or two posts per day from their Facebook pages. The survey found that the f-commerce sector was still low on legal registration and compliance, as evident from a staggering 77 per cent of the businesses being either sole-proprietorship or partnership ventures. Rajib Ahmed, of the E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (ECAB), told The Independent that the women-driven f-commerce sites were growing in a geometric progression. They are serving the needs of thousands of people, he said. He said that most of f-commerce based businesses were still running their businesses like cottage industries. I believe that like the way we brought all e-commerce business under the umbrella of one association, we need to bring all f-commerce businesses under one to take the sector forward.