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Prospects and Problems for E-commerce in Pakistan

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 Asian Journal of Economics, Finance and Management

2(4): 131-139, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.266

Prospects and Problems for E-commerce in

Pakistan
Asif Javed1*
1
Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Pakistan.

Author’s contribution

The sole author designed, analysed, interpreted and prepared the manuscript.

Received 01 October 2020

Original Research Article Accepted 23 November 2020
Published 09 December 2020

ABSTRACT

E-commerce facilitates firm and individual to conduct business over an electronic network and it is
decreasing the geographical hurdles of trade. E-commerce played key role in the development of
many countries by changing old methods of doing business with more sophisticated and
accessible methods. The current study examines the significance of E-commerce industry for
Pakistan and the prospects of growth and opportunities in the sector. Furthermore, the study also
takes into account the challenges faced by e-commerce sector. The study used the descriptive
analysis for the purpose and analysis is presented based on the secondary data. E-commerce
industry in Pakistan observed significant growth in the last few years. The government has also
taken measures through e-commerce policy and Digital Pakistan Policy which provided new
opportunities for the growth of the sector. However, e-commerce is facing challenges including
payment gateways, lack of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure,
multiple taxes on ICT products and lack of e-payment regulations. Despite the challenges, the
sector can possesses growth prospects as it can help in revenue generation, jobs provision and
promoting digital trade. It is required that government should accelerate the digital payment
gateways. A digital chamber of commerce, better human capital and intellectual property protection
are other measures which can be helpful in promoting e-commerce in Pakistan.

Keywords: E-commerce; digital trade; COVID-19.

1. INTRODUCTION sellers from any region can deliver goods and

services to customers domestically and
Electronic commerce is a kind of business internationally. E-commerce has boosted the
model, which facilitates an individual or a firm to global economy and played a key role in
conduct business over an electronic network economic development of many countries [2]
which usually is the internet [1]. E-commerce through changing old methods of doing business
eradicates the geographical obstacles of trade as with more sophisticated and accessible methods
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

*Corresponding author: Email: asifjaved@sdpi.org, asifjaved04@gmail.com;

 Javed; AJEFM, 2(4): 131-139, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.266

[3]. However, e-commerce adopting is a  What are the major challenges that the e-
challenge for many developing countries due to commerce sector is facing?
the barriers including cognitive aspects,
economic and sociopolitical factors [4]. 2. STUDY METHODS
Particularly unavailability of credit cards, lack of
awareness and knowledge and complex legal The study adopts the descriptive analysis to
procedures restrict the growth of e-commerce examine the prospects and challenges related to
industry. e-commerce sector in Pakistan. Secondary data
is extracted from the published sources to
E-commerce industry in Pakistan observed
highlight the significance and existing situation in
significant growth over the last few years as the
this regard. The first phase of the study was
industry has been estimated at Rs. 51.8 billion in
based on empirical literature related to
Fiscal Year (FY) 17 which increased to 99.3
importance, challenges and growth prospects of
billion in FY 18 [5], showing growth of 92%. The
e-commerce. Data for retail e-commerce market,
government has taken certain measures to
number of e-commerce merchants accepting
promote e-commerce and ICT technologies
digital payments, e-commerce transactions, e-
which provide basis of growth for the sector. E-
commerce index and markets of online shoppers
commerce policy and Digital Pakistan policy are
is included in the study. Policies documents are
major steps in this regard. The evolving digital
reviewed to present the relevant rules and
payment infrastructure and e-commerce
regulations and initiatives taken by the
transactions show the growth prospects of the
government to promote the e-commerce sector.
sector. Nevertheless, there exist a number of
In this regard, the study reviews the e-commerce
issues in e-commerce development and the
policy and the significance of e-commerce
major challenge is the non-availability of proper
activities during coronavirus spread.
infrastructure for online payments as the cash
Furthermore, review of Digital Pakistan Policy is
payments are still the most popular mode of
done and the initiatives for promoting e-
payment [6]. This is due to the lack of awareness
commerce sector are discussed accordingly.
about e-banking and insecurity and trust deficit
on e-commerce [7]. People are not well aware
regarding ecommerce advancement in the
3. RESULTS
technology which is a major concern as well. In
this context, the existing study discusses the 3.1 State of E-commerce in Pakistan
relevance of e-commerce growth for Pakistan
economy and the latest possible data is used for Pakistan has observed exponential growth in e-
the purpose. commerce activities in the past few years [8].
This has become possible based on the lower
Specifically, the present study aims to explore transaction costs, convenience and increasing
the following research questions; internet penetration. Due to this, both consumers
and enterprises have started focusing on online
 What is the existing state of e-commerce in trading. Besides e-commerce industry has
Pakistan? expanded its spread beyond the major cities of
 What are the prospects of growth and Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad which has
opportunities in e-commerce sector? broadened the influence.

Table 1. Retail e-commerce market landscape

Province Order share (%) City Order share (%)

Punjab 55 Karachi 24
Sindh 36 Lahore 17
Khyber Pakhtunkhawa 5 Islamabad & Rawalpindi 10
Balochistan 2 Sialkot 2
Azad Jammu & Kashmir 2 Multan 2
- Hyderabad 2
Other 43
1
Source: E-commerce Index (Daraz)

1
https://www.slideshare.net/DarazCareers/ecommerce-index-powered-by-daraz

132

The largest portion of online orders generates
from Punjab (55%) while in terms of city wise
order market share, 24% of orders are made
from Karachi (Table 1). Although the e-
commerce is expanding beyond apart from three
major cities, however the penetration of e-
commerce is still lower in majority of the cities
and especially the spread of e-commerce
towards rural areas is negligible. Khosla and
Kumar [9] pointed out that the online shopping in
India is a threat for offline retailers as online
enterprises provide better prices and attractive
promotional strategies. Pakistan has a retail
market of over 900,000 merchants and over
2000 online merchants out of which less than 50
online merchants accept digital payments [10].
Digital payment infrastructure has evolved
gradually in Pakistan due to surge in branchless
banking and growth in subscription of 3G/4G
networks. Now both online marketplaces and e-
retailers are integrating these systems into their
models. At the end of FY 18, the number of e-
commerce merchants using e-payment gateway
of banks increased to 1,094 as compared to only
571 at the end of FY17 (Fig. 1).
During FY 18, the e-commerce transactions
increase continuously as in first quarter, 826.6
thousand e-commerce transactions were
occurring which amounts Rs. 4753.8 million
(Table 2). The number of e-commerce
Q4-FY18
Q3-FY18 Q4-FY18
Q2-FY18
Q1-FY18
0 200
Fig. 1. Number of E-commerce merchants accepting digital payments in Pakistan
Source: State Bank of Pakistan
Table 2. E-commerce transactions
Quarter E-commerce transactions (Thousand)
Q1-FY18 826.6
Q2-FY18 840.0
Q3-FY18 807.2
Q4-FY18 947.8
Source: State Bank of Pakistan
2
https://www.sbp.org.pk/ecodata/index2.asp
Javed; AJEFM, 2(4): 131-139, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.266
transactions increases to 947.8 thousand with
transaction amount of Rs. 5055.6 million. The
usage of e-wallets is also increasing in Pakistan
with the passage of time.
Fig. 2 explains the structure of e-commerce in
Pakistan. Majority of the e-commerce retailers
belongs to marketplaces for goods like Daraz.pk,
FoodPanda, Shophive or online marketplaces for
services such as ride-hailing platforms which
includes Careem and Uber. In India, a major
portion of online services are based on travel and
hotel bookings, however the same are still not
well established in Pakistan.
Internet penetration is the basis for promoting e-
commerce, however the lack of internet
penetration in Pakistan is a major deterrent in
making gains in e-commerce sector. This is
attributed to tax levied on internet usage which
increases the cost for consumers, thus resulting
in lower internet usage among the masses.
According to United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) Business
to Consumer (B2C) E-Commerce Index, China is
the top ranked country in Asian region while
Korea is the second on the list (Table 3). It can
be observed that Pakistan is amongst the lowest
ranked country as compared to other Asian
countries particularly with South Asian countries.
1,094
1,023
905
812
400 600 800 1000 1200
Amount (Rs. Millions)
4753.8
4421.5
4446.2
5055.6
2
133
 Javed; AJEFM, 2(4): 131-139, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.266

E-commerce in
Pakistan

Business to Customer Online marketplaces Online marketplaces

(B2C) for goods (many to for services (many to
many) many)

Goods (One to many) Own inventory &

Infomediaries Intermediate
delivery

Services
3rd party sellers Property Transport

Fig. 2. Structure of E-commerce in Pakistan

Source: State Bank of Pakistan

Table 3. UNCTAD B2C E-commerce Index, 2019

Rank Economy Share of individuals using Share of individuals with Index

2019 Internet (2018 or latest) an account (15+, 2017) Rank
2018
15 China 89 95 16
19 Korea, Republic 95 95 22
of
21 Japan 85 98 24
73 India 34 80 80
86 Srilanka 34 74 93
103 Bangladesh 15 50 88
112 Nepal 34 45 115
114 Pakistan 16 21 117
Source: UNCTAD 20193

Table 4. Internet shoppers as a share of internet users and of population (2017)

Economy As a share of internet users As a share of population

(%) (%)
Bangladesh 8 1
China 69 39
India 11 3
Indonesia 33 10
Japan 49 42
Korea, Republic of 60 54
Nepal 5 2
Pakistan 5 1
Source: UNCTAD 2019

3
https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/tn_unctad_ict4d14_en.pdf

134

Only 5% of internet users shopped online in
Pakistan in 2017 as compared to 8% in
Bangladesh and 11% in India (Table 4). Similarly
only 1% population in Pakistan does online
shopping which is quite lower and needs to be
increase in order to expand the size of e-
commerce. Internet is vital for encouraging e-
commerce as Olarreaga and Austin [11] and
Borga and Koncz Bruner [12] found that internet
promotes trade in physical goods while it also
increases digital services [13]. In a survey of e-
commerce enterprises by World Bank, firms in
Pakistan pointed out connectivity as major barrier
for cross-border e-commerce.
3.2 Challenges in E-commerce Growth
Payment gateways such as Paypal play a key
role in e-commerce growth as it allows traders to
easily receive money and promote business
through trust factor. However, the service is not
available in Pakistan due to high costs of entry,
money laundering issues and clearance
complications [14]. Recently Islamabad High
Court has asked the government to take
measures in order to bring services like Amazon
and PayPal in Pakistan [15]. Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure
is basis for expanding the e-commerce, however
there is lack of access towards affordable ICT
infrastructure in Pakistan. According to Global
Innovative Index (2019), Pakistan ranked at 111
and 118 in terms of ICT access and its usage
respectively. E-commerce industry in Pakistan is
also facing issues which include payments and
logistics, customer related issues and lack of
institutions and trade bodies to promote the
industry [16]. Adoption of digital platforms is
slower as compared to developed countries due
to lack of education and major portion of
population being residing in rural areas.
Specific e-payment regulations are required to
confine legal suspicions and introduction for
modern technologies and e-payment alternatives
to debit cards and credit cards [17]. Kshetri [18]
pointed out that regulatory and legal barriers are
major hindrances that decrease the e-commerce
diffusion pace in developing countries. Survey by
World Bank Group observed that trade barriers
and taxes in export markets are major
impediments for small seller firms of Pakistan.
Besides, multiple taxes on IT products also
increase the cost of production for businesses.
Javed [19] pointed out that lack of cross border
infrastructure, investment barriers and lack of
digital connectivity are major challenges in trade
135
Javed; AJEFM, 2(4): 131-139, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.266
integration among South Asian countries.
According to Saez et al. [20] infrastructure and
skills restrict the digital trade sector in Pakistan.
The report further stated that energy outages
affects the annual sales of businesses as around
61% IT firms pointed out the electricity as major
impediment in growth. The issues existed in
product delivery which includes tracking of
delivery and inventory management. Then only a
limited range and variety of products are
available online and majority of business
community is still out of the e-commerce
network.
3.3 Growth and Prospects
The growth of e-commerce sector is beneficial
for economy as it not only provides revenue to
the government but also through e-commerce
the geographical reach of trading activates grows
significantly [21]. Coronavirus (COVID-19) on
one side has affected the world economies
through limited trading activities while on the
other hand, it also creates an opportunities for
some sectors. New online buying habits and
behaviors have developed in COVID-19 as
people have shifted towards e-commerce.
People in countries like Brazil, China, Germany,
Italy, The Republic of Korea, Russian Federation,
South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey are now
more inclined towards e-commerce and digital
solutions 4 . Consumers now prefer to remain at
home and do online shopping which is providing
more options while further experience driven
mobile apps and sites are emerging around the
5
world to satisfy the growing demand . E-
commerce is also seen as an alternate strategy
for business chains around the world to avoid
sales dropout [22]. E-commerce enterprises in
Pakistan are getting advantage of the lockdown
and lower physical movements in the markets as
consumer spending on groceries in post
lowdown increased by 58% [23]. The major
increase in sectors including food and grocery,
telecom and subscriptions and online shopping
were observed. ‘Daraz.pk’ which is the largest
online marketplace in Pakistan witnessed nine
6
times surge in its online orders since March .
4
‘COVID-19 has changed online shopping forever, survey
shows’ UNCTAD, Oct 8th 2020, https://unctad.org/news/covid-
19-has-changed-online-shopping-forever-survey-shows
5
‘How COVID-19 is transforming e-commerce’ in
Forbes.com, Apr 28th 2020,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2020/04/28/how-
covid-19-is-transforming-e-commerce/#251666843544
6
‘Pakistan e-commerce giant says online sales surged
through coronavirus lockdowns’ Arab News, Jul 6th 2020,
https://www.arabnews.pk/node/1700646/pakistan

Besides, e-commerce sector also helped in
provision of new employment prospects during
COVID-19 [24].
Evolution of e-commerce enterprises such as
Daraz.pk is an example that e-commerce can
flourish in Pakistan and KCCI report [25]
indicates that Daraz alone can create one million
direct and indirect jobs by 2022. World Bank also
indicates that e-commerce is helpful in boosting
job creation and economic growth in developing
countries7. Quite recently, an e-commerce firm in
Turkey has created 1,000 jobs in only three
months while it also promotes women
participation in national economy8. E-commerce
policy of Pakistan [26] also aims to generate 130
million jobs and related prospects for youth. ICT
infrastructure will be develop through providing
internet services and establishing new IT valleys
and server farms. The prime example in this
regard is of Alibaba which has created 30 million
job opportunities particularly for youth,
disadvantaged groups and rural communities
[27]. Digital Pakistan Policy [28] focuses on a
national e-commerce gateway to develop internet
merchant accounts. E-banking facilities will also
be develop to promote the usage of mobile
financial service. Laws and regulations have
been initiated to enable the financial institutions
to enhance the electronic transactions. To further
promote digitization of economy, e-commerce
policy intends to introduce slabs to discourage
the Cash on Delivery. Being a bulk of youth
population and growing usage of internet among
the masses, Pakistan can tap the potential of e-
commerce. Survey findings of Saleem et al. [29]
also stated that young people who belong to the
age group of 20-2 are more likely to purchase
online.
E-commerce is also beneficial for Small and Mid-
Sized Enterprises (SMEs) as it allows higher
international visibility and prospects for flexible
employment especially for women and people
living in remote areas [30]. There are around
90% SMEs out of total enterprises in Pakistan
which employs 80% of non-agricultural labor
force and SMEs also contribute approximately
7
‘E-commerce can boost job creation and inclusive growth in
developing countries’ The World Bank, Nov 23th 2019,
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-
release/2019/11/23/e-commerce-can-boost-job-creation-and-
inclusive-growth-in-developing-countries
8
‘Turkey e-commerce firm Trendyol adds 1,000 jobs in 3
months’, Daily Sabah, Oct 26th 2020,
https://www.dailysabah.com/business/economy/turkish-e-
commerce-firm-trendyol-adds-1000-jobs-in-3-
months?gallery_image=undefined#big
136
Javed; AJEFM, 2(4): 131-139, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.266
40% towards GDP [31]. Considering these
significant numbers, e-commerce can
significantly promote the business activities and
develop further employment prospects including
opportunities for women and people living in far
off areas. Besides formal enterprises, informal
enterprises especially women led are
more common on social media sites where
women are engage in trading of goods and
services.
The provision of ICT infrastructure and skills help
in digital trade integration among economies [32].
The Digital Pakistan Policy by Ministry of IT &
Telecom focuses on facilitating the IT industry
through subsidized bandwidth, software
technology parks and research and
innovation which will boost the digital trade in
Pakistan.
Pakistan can learn from the experiences of
neighboring countries including China and India
which are the top two in terms of number of
online shoppers (Table 5). Pakistan has around
71 million broadband subscribers and 69 million
3G/4G subscriber which make it one of the
highest untapped markets for e-commerce in the
world [33].
E-commerce has also prompted many youth
which are now actively involved in startups
through their innovative ideas 9 . The startups
have helped in connecting the domestic market
with the global markets. One remarkable benefit
of e-commerce is that it provides the detailed
data which can provide valuable guidelines to
enterprises regarding the preferences of
consumers and the existing trends. Based on
these, the enterprises can gauge their future
planning and earn profits.
4. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
E-commerce has boosted the global economy
and played a key role in economic development
of many countries. However, there are certain
challenges in adopting e-commerce for many
developing countries which include barriers
including cognitive aspects, economic and
sociopolitical factors. Lack of credit cards usage,
lack of awareness and knowledge and complex
legal procedures hinders the growth of e-
commerce industry.
9
‘E-commerce prospects for a young Pakistan’ Daily Times,
Jan 29th 2018, https://dailytimes.com.pk/190723/e-commerce-
prospects-young-pakistan/

Table 5. Top 5 markets of online shoppers
Country Online shoppers
China 1 billion
India 360.1 million
USA 258.5 million
Indonesia 107 million
Japan 89.9 million
Source: EShop World Report 2019
Pakistan has observed exponential growth in e-
commerce sector in the past few years. Lower
transaction costs, convenience and increasing
internet penetration has provided basis for this
growth. This has also helped in expanding the
network of e-commerce beyond the major cities
of Pakistan. Many Business to Customer (B2E)
platforms are initiated and becoming popular
among people. Online shoppers are also
increasing with the passage of time and people
are paying attention towards online platforms for
shopping. E-commerce policy and Digital
Pakistan Policy are key measures from the
government regarding policy formulation to boost
the e-commerce sector. Branchless banking and
growth in subscription of 3G/4G networks
promoted the digital payment infrastructure. The
amount and number of e-commerce also grew
significantly in recent past. However the
percentage of internet shoppers in Pakistan is
quite low as compared to the regional
counterparts.
The major challenges in e-commerce growth in
Pakistan include payment gateways,
infrastructure related to ICT, customer related
issues and lack of trade bodies to promote the
industry. Recently, State Bank of Pakistan allows
the pilot operation of e-commerce payment
10
gateway which can be helpful in addressing
payment challenges to some extent. There is
lack of e-payment regulations which restrict the
diffusion of e-commerce. The major impediments
for small sellers firms include taxes and trade
barriers.
After the spread of COVID-19 and the imposition
of lockdown, consumers shifted their demand
towards e-commerce enterprises which helped in
boosting the e-commerce sector. Food and
grocery, telecom and subscriptions observed a
significant growth. However, certain measures
are required to foster the growth of e-commerce
10
‘SBP allows pilot operation of e-commerce payment
gateway’ Profit Pakistan, Jul 18th 2020,
https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/07/18/sbp-allow-
pilot-operation-of-e-commerce-payment-gateway/
Javed; AJEFM, 2(4): 131-139, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.266
Country % of population
Sweden 84.65
Korea 80.56
UK 79.8
Norway 79.25
USA 78.9
in Pakistan. Currently cash on delivery is the
major mode of transactions for which it is
required to make digital payments cheaper so
that more people can attract towards e-
commerce. The government of Punjab has
announced to decrease the GST on payments
made by digital platforms. This is a welcoming
step which should be followed by other provincial
governments. Specific laws are required to
promote e-commerce including data protection,
cyber security and privacy laws. E-commerce
stores should also tackle the delivery fraud in
order to enhance the security and consumers’
confidence. The legislation will help in growth of
the sector and it will also assist in avoiding
preventable litigations. Securities and Exchange
Commission of Pakistan and Competition
Commission of Pakistan should regularly conduct
the regulatory impact assessment to gauge the
socio-economic impact of regulation on
businesses and consumers. Firms should also
focus to provide services and adopt internet
marketing to reach at the maximum possible
consumers.
State Bank of Pakistan and Pakistan Bureau of
Statistics should regularly provide the data on e-
commerce to provide the updated information
regarding the sector. It is required to increase the
internet penetration beyond the major cities
including the rural areas. Research and
development in corporate sector and academia
should be focused through policy interventions
so that new products can be brought into the
markets which are aligned with the international
demand. Malaysia has developed a digital
chamber of commerce and the same can be
adopted in Pakistan while the chamber should
have a sole purpose to promote e-commerce.
Better human capital and intellectual property
protection is required for technology innovations
which will assist in promoting digital goods and
services.
The current study used descriptive analysis for e-
commerce related prospects and challenges in
Pakistan. In future research, the study will try to
137

follow a proper model for further in-depth
analysis.
COMPETING INTERESTS
Author has declared that no competing interests
exist.
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