e-Tailing (Online Retail – B2C in particular) offers tremendous opportunities for B2C (business-to-consumer) ecommerce or direct selling to grow and flourish in the local and international markets. It is especially proving helpful for startups eager to establish market presence despite limited resources, within the shortest time period. Similarly, it helps brick-and-mortar businesses become brick-and-click stores, and facilitates their engagement with customers online, resulting in wider customer reach. e-Tailing also helps businesses become more productive, organized and customer oriented, whilst enhancing the capacity of customers to look for their desired products in the comfort of their home or workplace, and at the same time strike great bargains in the shape of discounted prices.
This paper evaluates Pakistan’s state of readiness for supporting a bustling e-tail sector, in comparison with similar economies as well as identifies key factors that curtail growth of e-tailing in Pakistan.
The finding reveals that although Pakistan has adequate ICT infrastructure, internet user population, GDP and market size; key components like e-tail ecosystem, cognitive approach towards online buying, lack of institutional initiative towards e-tailing and e-entrepreneurship has curtail the required e-tail growth rate