Impacts of corona virus on E-commerce in Bangladesh

1. 1
Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology
Assignment on “Impacts of corona virus on E-commerce in
Bangladesh”
Submitted to:-
X
Assistant Professor
Schoolof Business
Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology
Submitted by:-
Name: Fahim Shahriyar

2. 2
Letter of Transmittal
To,
x
Assistant Professor,
Schoolof Business
Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology
Sub: Letter of Transmittal
Dear sir,
It is indeed a great pleasure for me to be able to hand over the assignment on
“Impacts of corona virus on E-commerce in Bangladesh”. This assignment is the
result of the knowledge which has been acquired from the respective course.
I tried my level best for preparing this report. The information of this report is
mainly based on Internet information. Some other details were gathered from the
newspapers articles and news channels. I gave my hundred percent for making this
report come together.
I, Hope you will appreciate my work and excuse the minor errors. Thanking you
for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Fahim Shahriyar

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Table of Contents
Contents Page no
Introduction 4-7
CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) 5
COVID-19 situation in Bangladesh 5-7
Covid-19 impact on E-commerce in Bangladesh 8-11
Negative impact on E-commerce 8-9
Rise of e-commerce (positive impact) 10
Customer Behavior 11
Covid-19 impact on E-commerce sites in Bangladesh 12-13
Conclusion 14
References 15

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Introduction:
The corona virus (Covid-19) has a wide reaching effect on e-commerce,
technology, business travel, and the economy. It has already taken the lives of
many and is also taking. In addition to this, every country follows the lockdown
procedures as a means of preventing measures and Bangladesh has also adopted
the same. It seems both private and the public sector are messed up due to this
virus. The fact is unavoidable that the effect of novel corona virus will have a
significant effect on the country, economy, and society. The increasing threat of
novel corona virus is a public health crisis and hampers the macro economy as a
whole. It has also cut off the supply chain of the business. The production and the
manufacturers are expected to be hampered more. China is the main manufacturing
hub for many businesses globally. Therefore, any disruption in china’s output will
simply have repercussions. The online business is finding it difficult to sell their
products online and also facing tremendous issues while sourcing their products
from China. China mainly deals with the machinery, equipment, instruments and
communication-related equipment. Similarly, the Bangladeshi market is also
dependable upon the china product and it will highly impact the economy of
Bangladesh. Further, the lockdown has also obstructed the import and export
facilities in the country. All is the impact of the corona virus. In addition to e-
commerce business the automotive, metals and metals products, chemicals,
communication equipment, rubber and plastics, and office machinery sectors are
also got disrupted. Many online businesses are facing shortages of the products
which are unable to satisfy the demand of the customers over there. This may also
increase the price of the products in the coming futures after everything gets well.
Moreover, e-commerce businesses are trying to handle the situation. Take up the
situation of the Amazon does not only deal with one country rather, but it also
deals with other countries too. Maximum of their sellers are from china of
Amazon. Other online businesses are also going to feel the pressure of their supply
crunch.

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CORONAVIRUS(COVID-19):
Corona virus is considered as one of the most infectious diseases which mainly
occur after contaminating the human with the rigorous acute syndrome of
respiratory issues. The particular disease has been evolved like a pandemic public
health crisis because of extensive spread within the number of nations. The
pandemic of COVID-19 is accelerating its transition towards digital commerce in a
very significant manner. The customers of the nation are expected to be practicing
social distancing. COVID-19 is identified as an independent variable because the
economy of the nation and the world has been influenced significantly. Based on
this particular pandemic the people of the nation have imposed a higher level of
limitations upon the individuals as well as on the businesses. This virus has
incurred a large number of calamities in the world economy. COVID-19 has been
presented as the independent variable in this particular study since the entire
economy and the wellbeing of the entire population has relied on this particular
pandemic to a greater extent.
COVID-19 situationin Bangladesh:
The COVID-19 pandemic has thus far spread to 213 countries and territories,
infecting 24,343,877 confirmed cases people, significantly affecting the global
economy. Since the corona virus has been growing exponentially, even the
developed countries have been unable to contain its spread. More than 829,778
people have died from COVID-19. With high population density, we cannot even
think how deadly the highly contagious disease will turn if it spreads from a
moderate to a strong category in India or Bangladesh. As of 26 August 2020,
Bangladesh 297083 confirmed infections with 3983 deaths, from the novel corona
virus outbreak. The COVID-19 testing coverage has been gradually increasing in
Bangladesh, reaching now 8850.1/MN but is still lower than Thailand
(10,026/MN), India (15,873/MN) and Nepal (9,382/MN). The institutional
quarantine capacity in the country is represented by 836 centers across 64 districts,
which can receive 53875 people. Between 1 May to 20 August 2020, total 272,339
individuals were placed under home quarantine all the over the county and to date
80% have been already released. Remaining 20% (55,465 individuals) are in home
quarantine now. By 01 May 2020, in total 12,259 individuals were isolated in

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designated health facilitates all over the country, of them 45% have been released,
and 6,021(55%) are presently in Isolation facilities.
Source: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/searo/bangladesh/covid-19-who-bangladesh-
situation-reports/who-covid-19-update-26-20200824.pdf?sfvrsn=c53e0ca8_2
Source: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/searo/bangladesh/covid-19-who-bangladesh-
situation-reports/who-covid-19-update-26-20200824.pdf?sfvrsn=c53e0ca8_2

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The figure bellow is showing the daily distribution of reported confirmed COVID-
19 cases and deaths, 08 March-24 August 2020, in Bangladesh:-
Source: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/searo/bangladesh/covid-19-who-bangladesh-
situation-reports/who-covid-19-update-26-20200824.pdf?sfvrsn=c53e0ca8_2
In its effort to contain the pandemic, Bangladesh government first imposed a
nationwide lockdown on March 26 and has extended it six times so far and finally
decided to conditionally carry out the overall activities in the country from 31 May
2020. Authorities have declared a ban on passenger travel via water, rail and on
domestic air routes from March 24 while all public transport on roads are
suspended from March 26 till 31 May 2020. Only trucks, covered vans and
vehicles carrying medicine, fuel and perishable items were remained out of the
purview of the lockdown. Hospitals, health clinics, grocery markets, pharmacies,
vegetable markets and banks (on a limited scale) remained open to offer essential
services. Tested 320,349 Confirmed 49,534 Recovered 10,597 Dead 672 Test/MN
1,881 Attack Rate/MN 290.8 Recovery Rate 21.4% CFR 1.36% Source: WHO
From 26 April 2020, apparel factories in industrial belts in Dhaka and Chattogram
were allowed to resume production to cater increasing order flow from Asian
markets. Industries have gone for gradual reopening of factories in phases
maintaining strict compliance of COVID-19 instructions by the health department.

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Covid-19 impact on E-commerce in Bangladesh:
Negative impact on E-commerce:
The e-commerce sector of the country has started feeling the brunt of COVID-19,
triggering panic amid the global pandemic.
E-commerce has greatly impacted as both rational and irrational fears take hold
due to the global outbreak of coronavirus.
Industry insiders said, online orders have declined drastically since the first
identification of COVID-19 cases in the country. E-commerce businesses that
import goods or raw materials from China are unsure about the impact of the virus
on the supply chain and productdemand.
A number of retailers are lowering their sales forecasts for the current year as they
are still in the dark about the long-term impact of the coronavirus. Many of them
have already changed their 2020 outlook from a positive to a negative one—they
expect the sale and revenue to fall.
E-commerce sites selling daily essentials and health products, such as masks and
sanitizers, have seen a spike in their sales. But fashion, IT services, cosmetics, and
sellers of other imported products have taken a hit.
AjkerDeal.com, a top e-commerce site of the country, is keeping a close watch on
how COVID-19 is impacting the company’s supply chain and productdemand.
“COVID-19 creates a supply chain uncertainty and could create demand
uncertainty as well,” said Fahim Mashroor, chief executive officer (CEO) of
AjkerDeal.com.
“Following the government's directives of an unofficial lockdown, all public
transport is off now. As the delivery system is not working, e-commerce too is
almost off at present,” he added.
A number of companies that import products from China, the epicentre of the
coronavirus outbreak, have faced a severe disruption of the supply chain, said
Mashroor.
“A few essential products are being sold through e-commerce, but fashion forward
products have totally stopped. We are going to face a loss due to the coronavirus.
As the situation is worsening, a number of e-commerce companies may have to
take harsh decisions like job cuts and total shutdown,” he added.

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Asif Ahnaf, chief executive officer (CEO) of Aponzone.com, told The
Independent, “We postponed all our B2C activities till April 4. But this has been
extended till April 11 as the government has extended the lockdown till that
period.”
“The situation is deteriorating every day. We don’t know what lies ahead for us.
But it’s certain that we will incur huge losses due to the pandemic,” he said.
Mohammad Sahab Uddin, vice-president of the e-Commerce Association of
Bangladesh (e-CAB), said, “As per government directives, most of our companies
have stopped operations due to a shortage of delivery personnel.”
“The companies that sell essential goods and medicines are running their
operations. Their sales are shooting up as demand is growing. A2i, post offices,
and law enforcers are helping them deliver their products timely,” he added.
“The selling of consumer products, fashion forward products, and IT-related
services, has almost collapsed. Outsourcing has also collapsed as the recipient
countries are in big trouble due to COVID-19,” Shahab said.
“Both small and large entrepreneurs will be affected negatively. As the global
economy is in a tight situation, we are also being hit,” he added.
“A large number of companies will not be able to repay their loans. Some may not
be able to pay employees’ salaries, utility bills, and office rent. All this may lead to
the shutting down of businesses,”said Shahab.
“According to our estimates, we may face a loss of around Tk. 600 crore for just
paying utility bills. Job cuts, company shutdown, and business postponement are
out of this calculation,” said the e-CAB president.
To bounce back from this shaky situation, e-commerce companies need the
government's help and incentives.
“We urge the government to provide us with interest-free loans, special incentives,
exemption from surcharge on existing loans, and postponement of loan
installments. We have to revive e-commerce as it is the main industry of the future
economy,” said Shahab.
The COVID-19 outbreak is indeed a health concern that is and will continue to
impact buying patterns and business execution in the coming months. Major
initiatives have to be taken to boostthe e-commerce sector.

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Rise of e-commerce (positive impact):
Since people are locked up in their home, all activities including all business
operations have gone online. And quite naturally, at this stage, this shift is only
going to continue. As a result, all brick and mortar businesses are bound to shift
their operation online. "We will see a rise of e-commerce and online operation shift
for the brick and mortar-based businesses. As a result, there will be a rise of work
in website design, e-commerce development and overall digital marketing
activities for SMEs," says Mashfique Khalid, managing director of Lie to Eye, a
leading advertising agency of the country.
June 2020 shoppers are still spending time on e-commerce sites:-
Source: E-commerce Association Bangladesh (E-CAB)
Customer Behavior: The behavior of the customer is also considered as the
independent variable. The main reason behind its independence is that the way the
population will act in response to the particular pandemic of COVID-19. As per
the significant impact of this pandemic the customers would take necessary
precautions and will more likely to act accordingly. Therefore the behavior of the
customer of Bangladesh mainly influences the demand of e-commerce business
activities to a great extent. The purchase behavior of the customers would be

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influenced due to the lockouts in the nations since there would be a lack of
availability of products and services in the various outlets and stores. For this
particular reason, the customer should depend mainly on the e-commerce platform
in order to fulfill the essential necessities required for their survival.
Source: E-commerce Association Bangladesh (E-cab)

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Covid-19 impact on E-commerce sites in Bangladesh:
Chadal.com
Chaldal.com is one of the leading e-commerce shops famous for delivering
groceries. The site has been facing a considerable increase in sales as people are
turning into the Chaldal site to order their groceries as people are unable to go out
to get groceries by themselves due to the pandemic.
Daraz.com
Daraz is one of the most popular and oldest e-commerce sites in Bangladesh,
specializing in electronics, home appliances, clothing etc. Recently they have
added a grocery section in their subcategory which makes Daraz one of the top e-
commerce sites of Bangladesh. Also their home appliance section is booming as
people need to do most of the house chores by themselves and Daraz offers the
biggest home appliance section through their website.
Meena Click
Meena Bazaar is one of the biggest departmental store brands in Bangladesh. With
the Meenaclick, Meena has entered the e-commerce industry and is catering
essentials and groceries to the people who are unable to go to a store physically
due to the pandemic.
Othoba.com
Othoba is one of the e-commerce sites seeing a booming increase in usage due to
its Ramadan centric offers and supply of PPEs and other hygiene products,
necessary products during the COVID-19 crisis.
Priyoshop.com
PriyoShop has already known as one of the top e-commerce sites for fashion,
jewelry, and clothing in Bangladesh. But after the lock-down due to the pandemic,
PriyoShop has been majorly focusing on providing daily groceries, home appliance
products, PPEs and other hygienic products; thus seeing an increased growth
during these times.

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Shawapno.com
Shwapno is one of the leading departmental stores in Bangladesh. As people are
forced to be in quarantine, Shwapno has launched their own e-commerce site where
people can get their groceries and essentials with free home delivery.
Khaasfood.com
Khaasfood has come to focus during this COVID-19 situation for providing groceries.
Khaasfood has taken initiatives to promote their online grocery shopping, Ramadan
offers, and nutrition to keep people healthy during the pandemic; hence seeing an
increased user traffic in recent times.
Sheba.xyz
Sheba.xyz is an online marketplace where people of Bangladesh can look for services
such as cleaning, repairs, and delivery. As the lockdown in the country has made
people unable to go out for essentials, Sheba has introduced grocery shopping,
healthcare, and emergency services to meet the ongoing demands throughout the
quarantine.
Ajkerdeal.com
Ajkerdeal is a popular e-commerce platform in Bangladesh selling a wide variety of
products. And as the pandemic has caused a severe lockdown in the country,
Ajkerdeal has adopted to selling PPEs, healthcare products, groceries, and other
essentials to help out the people during these tough times.
Pharmacy.com
Medicine and other healthcare products are essential to many people. And due to the
quarantine lock-down, many people are not able to procure their medicines and such,
leaving them to further health risks. Pharmacy.com is the leading online pharmacy
store who has been seeing a substantial rise in sales as they are one of the few e-
commerce businesses that have brought the pharmacy to a digital storefront.

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Conclusion:
The state of all kinds of business in the world for corona virus is not very good
now. Initially because of the lockdown for the virus, all business activities were
shut down. Due to this, the condition of all business and economic condition of
Bangladesh went down a lot. In case of lockdown, all types of supply of the
company were stopped and export and import were stopped, so the business cold
not sell the products because they brought their products. That’s why the business
of e-commerce sites was much worse in the beginning than the others normal
business.
Then, three of months later, when the lockdown began to slow down, e-commerce
sites began to re-emerge. Then their supplies became just like before so they can
start new ventures and they can deliver the products to customers.
Because of the corona virus, it is now said that people are now mostly dependent
on e commerce sites. If people start using e-commerce sites, it will play a helpful
role in dealing with the corona virus situation in Bangladesh. That’s why everyone
should sit at home and collect their all daily necessities from e-commerce sites and
it will help them stay free from corona virus and also keep others free from corona
virus and the economic situation of Bangladesh will go much improved.
All in all, e-commerce has helped us tremendously in this corona situation.

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References:
1. https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/education/how-covid-19-impacts-
digital-marketing-landscape-1589385334
2. http://www.theindependentbd.com/post/243578
3. https://www.fairwear.org/covid-19-dossier/worker-engagement-and-
monitoring/country-specific-guidance/bangladesh/
4. https://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-e-
commerce-by-category-updated-weekly/
5. https://www.google.com/search?q=covid+19+cases+in+bangladesh&oq=
covid+&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0l3j69i60l3j69i65.3109j0j7&sourceid=chro
me&ie=UTF-8
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Bangladesh
7. https://covid19.who.int/region/searo/country/bd
and some newspaperarticles