With Pakistan’s e-commerce market expected to grow to $1 billion by 2020, it is quite evident that mobile commerce is surging. This opportunity is of immense significance to entrepreneurs whose business philosophy is to make products and services available for their customers through convenience and ease. By coming up with strategies to attract a large segment of the 51 million potential customers who own smartphones in Pakistan, there is new ground to cover to enhance business growth by leveraging technology and mobile internet coverage.
Nowadays, startups and businesses have chosen to dabble in the domain of e-commerce. For them, the next step is to invest in apps and technology. Around 91 percent of Pakistani people possess a smartphone. Mobile phone apps are made to be customer-centric for the users. It is believed in the tech industry that personalized apps have the highest downloads because they have an attractive layout, more features and better user-flexibility. Monetization of these apps through advertisement strategies and models such as premium and basic, and in-app purchases triggers revenue through clicks too.
To give a holistic experience to the customers, a brand has to have its digital presence. This is because an average millennial spends almost 3 hours on a mobile phone everyday and conversely an insignificant amount of time on traditional mediums such as televisions and radios. Millennials have shorter attention spans, with competition skyrocketing in a world where more than 2 million apps exist only on Google Play Store, every user is looking for unique experiences and faster loading times while researching for products and prices over the internet. They also read reviews and ask their peers about it.
Must Read: USB 4 ANNOUNCED, AFTER USB 3.2…
The online retail industry of Pakistan further fueled by mobile commerce is all set to flourish according to the economic trends. This revolution in the digital industry has changed the paradigm of buying and selling. A mobile phone is not just a simple portable device anymore but a huge savior of time and money. Once the user shops through an app, the money paid translates into a fast-growing economy. It is estimated that by 2021, mobile commerce sales will account for 54 percent of the total e-commerce sales in the world. The effect of such a trend is spreading to developing countries such as Pakistan. Millennials here, are becoming amenable to using technology now that e-commerce websites and apps are being widely adopted.
One such e-commerce platform is cheetay.pk. With its latest app designed to incorporate all categories present on its website. The categories include Food, Books, Healthcare (makeup and medicines) and Grocery giving the user a diverse variety of options to choose from. There are many add-on features within the app to enhance customer experience. Two of the most prominent ones are “Aur Kya Chahiye?” and Xoom exclusive services. The former is an option to get the rider to run errands and get anything that a customer may want. The latter however, is a six-month subscription program that gives free delivery of over fifty restaurants along with daily deals and flat 10 percent discount to all its subscribers.
Mobile Commerce in Pakistan – The Next Big Thing in E-commerce Industry
With 3.4 million online transactions in 2018 just worth PKR 18.7 billion, Pakistan’s e-commerce industry shows a rising trend. Mobile commerce, that is a part of this industry is becoming a successful customer touch point. Their new multi-category app has updated restaurant algorithms for better user experience. The users can set a pin location, see a variety of products, put price filters, use the multi-cart feature and track their order history. In Pakistan, business ventures are now using mobile commerce to make their services and products
