Lankan e-commerce space could expand to US $ 500mn in next 5-7 years: Daraz

By Nishel Fernando

Daraz, a top e-commerce platform in South Asia, which was acquired recently by China’s Alibaba, said Sri Lanka’s e-commerce industry could expand to US $ 500 million during the next five to seven years, with appropriate investments. 

Daraz.lk Country Manager Bart Van Dijk told Sri Lanka Retail Forum 2018 yesterday that with the right kind of investments, Sri Lanka’s ecommerce could grow to US $ 500 million in a five to seven-year period, from the current US $ 50 million, given the growing amount of pre-purchase research online.

According to him, online e-commerce interest has been growing steadily in Sri Lanka and 64 percent of consumers have engaged in pre-purchase research online in 2017, which is a growth of 30 percent compared to the previous year.

Dijk pointed out that the retail requirements expected from an e-commerce entity is more demanding than from a typical retailer. 

He noted that the expectation from an e-commerce entity ranges from faster processing time, investor tracking to omni-channel 
approach to creating your own digital signature. 

Though local e-commerce firms have progressed, Dijk said that more needs to be done in order to achieve the full potential of the sector. 

He revealed that Daraz in Sri Lanka recorded 300 percent growth last year, compared to the previous year and several plans are underway to further popularise Daraz among Sri Lankan consumers. 

Daraz plans to hold the largest online shopping festival in Sri Lanka next month on Black Friday, introducing the 11.11 concept to Sri Lanka. 

Dijk revealed that Daraz also plans to engage in cross-border trade in the future, including exporting to other countries.