With increased shipments of garment, overall exports to the US rose 1.12 percent to $3.6 billion in the first seven months of this year, according to data from the US Department of Commerce. Between January and July, manufacturers exported $3.36 billion of garment products to the US, Bangladesh’s single largest export destination. The number is a 0.87 percent rise year-on-year. Although the growth of apparel exports to the US is not too high, the trend is still inspiring, said Siddiqur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. “We expect an annualised garment export growth to the US of at least 10 percent. Achieving this is possible as the work orders are coming in bulk due to competitive prices and for the production of high value apparel items in recent years in Bangladesh,” said Rahman. China has been losing its market share in the US. This is another major reason for the higher growth of Bangladesh’s garment exports to the US, he said.“International retailers are pleased with compliance as well, as the factory owners are completing their remediation works in their units and strengthening workplace safety.” Of the top 10 garment exporters to the US, only Bangladesh and Vietnam showed positive trends in the shipments during the period. Vietnam’s exports grew 1.83 percent to $6.51 billion in the first seven months.Between January and July, the US import of garment items from the world declined 4.98 percent to $60.23 billion from $63.39 billion last year. During this time, China’s exports declined by 8.49 percent to $21.39 billion, India by 0.97 percent to $4.39 billion, Pakistan by 10.67 percent to $1.59 billion. Apparel spending in the US declined 1.5 percent in June, while department store sales fell from a year ago, according to Business Insider.  The companies blamed a variety of temporary factors — such as delayed inventory shipments, bad weather, and fewer international tourists — for the slowdown in business. But Americans are increasingly spending less on clothes and home furnishings, a trend that could hurt the companies’ businesses for years to come. While lower gas prices mean consumers theoretically have more disposable income, the Commerce Department recently reported that US retail sales were flat as shoppers have other priorities. A recent report by Morgan Stanley shows that millennials are spending more on expenses like rent, cellphones, and personal services than young people a decade ago. This leaves less money for buying clothes, the Business Insider said.In apparel export, Bangladesh does not enjoy duty benefit in the American markets. As a result, Bangladesh’s competitiveness eroded by 15.62 percent, Vietnam 8.38 percent, China 3.08 percent and India 2.29 percent.

Bangladesh’s e-commerce industry could become a one-billion-dollar market in the next five years, aided by retail, garments and tourism sectors that increasingly go online, industry insiders have said. “Currently, an estimated Tk. 10 billion transaction takes place annually through e-commerce websites in the country and that volume is significantly growing,” Rajib Ahmed, President of e-commerce Association of Bangladesh, told FE. “However, in the next five years, not only retail outlets or tourism companies will use this platform, but the readymade garment industries will drive the growth in this sector,” he added. Rajib noted that already many of the major retail outlets have opened their online sites, where a growing number of retail transactions are taking place. For example, Aarong, a retailer, has received orders from around 40 districts during this Eid season, insiders said. At the same time, a large number of hotel bookings are already taking place online, a trend which would accelerate in the coming days. “The export-oriented ready garment sector could potentially be a major driver for this sector in the coming years,” the e-Cab President said. “In the near future, many RMG factories will use this platform to showcase and promote their products and to carry out their transactions with their overseas buyers”, he added. According to industry estimates, e-commerce industry can potentially generate around one million jobs for the country in the next 10 years.   “In recent times, many telecom companies are also tapping this market. They are also likely to become major player and driver of the growth in this sector”, Rajib told FE. Although, e-commerce started in Bangladesh in the late 90s, beginning with gift sites targeted towards the non-resident Bangladeshis, the growth of the industry was not optimally high up to 2008. However, e-commerce has experienced a boom in Bangladesh since the central bank allowed online payment in 2009. According to industry statistics, there are around 800 e-commerce websites in the country. Most of these sites have started their operation two to three years ago and are run as small business by young entrepreneurs.   Industry insiders noted that the usual boom time for online transactions is generally the festival seasons like two annual Eid festivals. “E-commerce transactions see an increase of around 50 per cent during the Eid seasons”, Razib said. “The most popular items for the Eid-ul-Fitr times are usually cloths while the sales of spices see a sizable increase during Eid-ul-Azha”, he added. Noting that in recent years, there has been a visible presence of sacrificial animals on the e-commerce sites, industry insiders said that the amount of such transactions, although meager until now, have lots of growth potential for the coming years. “This year, we have introduced a new way of advertising to the cattle sellers for the upcoming Eid. They are also responsible for delivering the animals to the customers after purchase,” said Misha Ali, Marketing Director of Bikroy.com, one of the leading e-commerce sites in the country. “Last year, we got around 1,000 queries on our website during Eid season. But this year, we got more than 5,000 queries,” a Bikroy.com official told the FE.  Insiders also noted that from consumer perspective, one of the biggest drivers for the growth of e-commerce in Bangladesh will be its burgeoning middle-class, an estimated 68 per cent now own smartphones. Access to internet, owning a smart phone and having a credit card-these are the three most import prerequisites for online shopping. Around 20 per cent of the country’s middle-class population now use credit-card, with 15 per cent of them doing online shopping last year, according to industry estimates.   In recent times, Facebook Commerce or F-Commerce is also becoming popular in the country. There are approximately 8,000 Facebook pages administered from Bangladesh, many of which are used for selling different retail products. Experts also said that there is a significant untapped market in rural areas, which has lots of room for growth. “Smartphones are gradually making their way to the rural areas. With adequate access to financial services, rural population can use this platform to explore and expand markets for their goods around the country,” Rajib said.