People still prefer physical stores for Eid shopping

Customers ditch convenience for reliance on making assured purchases

ISLAMABAD: The prospects of mouthwatering discounts and the ease of receiving a parcel while sitting at home may have converted many a casual shopper or the deal seeker in the country in recent years, but when it comes to big occasions, it seems that people still trust physical stores where they can check the merchandise before purchase.

This was a trend witnessed over recent Eidul Fitr in the capital where physical stores apparently did far better business than online stores.

E-commerce businesses in the country say they could not gain momentum despite offering promising sales.



Experts are of the view that the plunge in online sales in Pakistan was surprising, especially given how online traffic has been steadily rising in recent years, with 57 million people in the country now connected to broadband internet accompanied by a slow change in habits.

Observing this, several online stores have popped up, competing on price, quality and variety, hoping to catch a slice of the e-commerce cake.

However, they are yet to fully gain the trust of customers and have apparently failed to completely put shoppers at ease over the quality of the products on offer. Moreover, there are question marks that products on sale online are already marked up while the delivery system is not as efficient, as a result, people at times receive their parcels weeks after placing an order for a product.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2018.