While online shopping is becoming more popular in Pakistan, certain sectors of the economy are still under severe pressure due to COVID-19-led lockdowns. Nevertheless, E-commerce in Pakistan is gaining tremendous momentum. Stakeholders predict that growth will continue after the pandemic.
The e-commerce industry in Pakistan has seen a steady rise. Over the last few years, the number of e-commerce traders that are listed has increased significantly. It is because the industry reached new heights of success during the COVID-19 epidemic. And contactless selling and buying have become more popular.
The State Bank Of Pakistan Releases E-commerce Data
The State Bank of Pakistan released data. These data show that Pakistan’s e-commerce market has experienced year-on-year growth of 78.9 % in volume and 33.3 % in value during the fiscal year 2020. So it was from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020. According to data from the Central bank, ecommerce revenue increased by Rs 2.3 billion to Rs 9.4 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2020. This increase brought the annual revenue to Rs 34.8 trillion rupees.
Devices Wise Online Shopping In Pakistan
Last year’s data shows that half of all transactions in Pakistan were done via mobile phones. Pakistanis also spend more when shopping through their smartphones. According to this data, mobile users spent an average of Rs 9,695 per order. The average order value for desktop users was Rs 9,164. That was Rs 4,789 for tablet users.
The type of device also matters. Users who used iOS phones spent more than users of Android phones. On average, they spent Rs 14,510, Rs 7,467 and Rs 7,467.
Age Group Wise Online Shopping In Pakistan
The report showed that online shopping in Pakistan was dominated by men (59%) and women (41%). Age group analysis was also provided in the report. Fifty-six percent of online shoppers were between 25-34 years old. 23% of online shoppers were between 18-24 years old, while 14% were between 35-44 years. The remaining 7% were made up of those aged 45 and over.
Geographical Data for Online Shopping in Pakistan
Geographically, the contribution of Punjab was 55% to purchases made through online shopping stores in Pakistan. Sindh contributed 36%. The remaining 9% was shared by Azad Kashmir, KPK, Baluchistan, and KPK.
The report also showed city-wise share. Again, Karachi is the leader with 24%.
Lahore is next with 17%, and Rawalpindi and Islamabad with 10%. Other major contributors to online shopping in Pakistan are Multan and Sialkot.
Let’s now discuss another study that revealed important aspects of online shopping for Pakistan.
Month-Wise Average Order Value
This research shows that December is the month when online shopping in Pakistan is most popular, followed by November and October. According to this research, the average order value for these months is Rs. 9,945, Rs.9 5,577, and Rs. 8,348 and Rs.9,577 respectively. With an average order value of Rs 6,320, March saw the lowest amount of shopping activities.
Contribution Share Month-Wise Transactions
Here is a chart showing that November was the top-ranked online shop month by month. This month contributed 19.3% to the total transactions for the year. With 11.3% of transactions, October was the second busiest. Then, of course, there was also December, which had 8.8% transactions.
Time and Day Contribution
According to research, Monday and Friday are the most popular days for desktop and mobile users. Both of these users prefer to shop during peak sales between 12:00 and 06:00 PM.
Popular Categories for Online Shopping in Pakistan
According to the analysis, Pakistan’s top five online shopping categories are 1- Clothing, 2- Foods, 3- Footwear, 4- Travel, and 5- Electronics.
