Is there any scope for E Commerce in Pakistan?

For decades Pakistan did not even enter the race of technology and e-commerce. There are multiple reasons for this including political instability, poor leadership, an outdated education system, and many more. However, the previous decade has changed this perspective quite a bit. The world is starting to visualize the real potential of Pakistan’s IT industry. The past decade proved to be a major breakthrough for Pakistan in terms of IT growth and world recognition. However, the International trade association still considers Pakistan to be a cash-based informal economy. This means, according to the international trade association, most of the transactions are made with cash in Pakistan.

Still, the rise of e-commerce in this type of economy surprises everyone. Pakistan’s market started to make its online presence from the start to the mid of the previous decade. However, the industry required a boost to become competitive. COVID-19 provided this boost. When the COVID pandemic hit the country, it made people come online for shopping and other purposes. This was the time when the e-commerce industry saw a rise in popularity and usage among people. As more and more people tried out Pakistani e-commerce platforms, they gained more trust among the locals.

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Now it was time to hit the international market. After 2020, the world saw a sudden rise in Pakistani accounts on international e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba, and a few others. However, this came up with a few consequences as well. As more and more sellers turned towards Amazon, there were a few who invented new ways to trick the system. Recently, Amazon discovered these tricks and banned many Pakistan-based seller accounts. This incident has badly disturbed the image of Pakistan in the international e-commerce marketplace.

However, the story does not end here. Pakistan is still in the market and the International market has ranked Pakistan as the 37th largest market for e-commerce worldwide. International market is rising rapidly. More and more consumers are coming into the market. It is up to the government to upscale and develop projects which could give another boost to the Pakistani e-commerce community. If the government supports the community, there is a high chance that Pakistan can become the next giant of this industry.