In Pakistan there are many shops and merchants selling all
kinds of goods- be it clothes, shoes, jewelry, mobiles or laptops- the variety
and options are astounding, the problem however is one- lack of marketing spend
and budget hence lack of awareness. In this day and age being ‘out there’ and visible
is extremely important and with so many shops shouting about their products at
the top of their lungs, those who aren’t
heard quite frankly don’t exist in people’s mind. This affects the sales- lower
foot flow and lack of trust all lead to less revenue generation for the seller.
In such cases it is best for the seller to have an online
presence- whereas having an e-commerce website, or maybe even an informational
website and accompanying social media campaign may do the trick, often enough
sellers may not have the funds to do that. An alternative to this query is to
start selling online through online marketplaces; there are many online
websites such as Kaymu.pk that
offer a forum for sellers to individually or through management list their
goods online and having a chance to make online sales in Pakistan. Such
websites allow small sellers to build an online presence as well as acquire orders
and build a larger market for their goods.
Retailers should encourage and promote online shopping in
Pakistan; it is a beneficial change for all retailers as online shopping really
decreases the overhead costs associated with retailing; Pakistani online
shopping is developing infrastructure for people to shop without the
traditional brick and mortar set up. This would really help out retailers who
may not have a lot of investment and capital to have a lavish setup, but do
have great products; with Pakistan online shopping, you are not judged by the
décor or look of your store but instead on the quality of products and price
you provide. This opens up a lot of opportunity to small time retailers and
ultimately allows bigger retailers to also decrease the overhead and fixed
costs related to retailing.
Retailers should stock up on and promote on sites like
Kaymu.pk to proliferate the culture of online shopping in Pakistan; this itself
is a significant task as people need to overcome their suspicions and lack of
trust for e-commerce. In Pakistan people are wary of fraud; hence they tend to
stay away from methods that have less of a personal contact and communication
with retailers. There should be an industry wide effort made to overcome this
trust gap to attain exponential benefits and perks for all retailers.
