Demand and Supply-Side Analysis of Dhaka Based Online Business during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper conducts the demand and supply-side analysis of Dhaka-based online businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. In nations like Bangladesh, online-based shopping has not been simple due to an immature foundation and the hesitance, or failure, of consumers to use banks and electronic payment. It is certain that the once-in-a-century-pandemic, the Covid-19, has modified the way individuals think, shop, and transact while purchasing goods and services. This paper found out how the COVID-19 emergency has made significant changes in consumers’ buying behavior in the online business sector. Three different questionnaire surveys have been prepared that cover the demand side scenario of the consumers and the supply side scenario of online businesses, especially cover e-commerce, f-commerce, and ed-tech sectors. As the crisis measures have been embraced and urban areas like Dhaka have been put on lockdown, consumers have moved to purchase an ever-increasing number of things online. The online consumers’ buying behavior reflects how essential commodity purchases have replaced luxuries analyzing the pre-COVID and post-COVID buying behavior. Suppose this shift towards online purchases brings up issues about what relevant businesses can expect in the near and long-haul future, and shopper conduct has been changed irreversibly. An eco-friendly digital environment, proper optimization of online marketing channels, improved digital payment procedures may help sustain the upsurge of the online business sector as a whole. Based on online survey data, this qualitative paper finds out the conditions.