1. Pakistan is already home to over 30 million shoppers with Internet access on the rise
Consumer Funnel- Pakistan vs Indonesia and India, In million- 2021
Despite having relatively low Internet penetration, Pakistan is already home to over 30 million active shoppers. With the new government plans to expand internet access & the number of online shoppers growing at rapid rates, Pakistan could soon become home to one of the world’s largest E-com markets.
Similar trends have historically played across both Indonesia and India, whereby both managed to grow at 30%+ levels amid the birth of E-com while doubling shopper numbers YoY.
2. Current E-tail penetration is indicative of the largely untapped potential Pakistan holds; Experiences from nearby nations
E-tail Penetration – Pakistan vs India vs Indonesia, % of Overall Retail – 2021
E-tail still being under-penetrated below the 2% mark is largely the reason why Pakistan has flown under the radar to many. While the nation is still trailing when compared to south-east Asian markets such as Indonesia and China at 12% and 20%+ online sales contribution respectively, learnings from nearby India give a clear example of the rapid pace to be witnessed in the upcoming years.
3. Fueled by recent funding, the Pakistan digital landscape is now set to take of as players storm the market
Equally as critical to the efforts being made to tap into Pakistan’s E-commerce potential are the plans to tackle the pain points. In terms of payments, the market is still overwhelmingly cash-on-delivery driven. With many enablers emerging within the Fintech and BNPL space, forecasts are for the nation to exceed 20% digital payments within the coming years. Similar landscape changes are seen in logistics, whereby Pakistan is already a major hub to some of the biggest eb2b-trucking platforms in METAP.
Finally, an additional key trend to look out for in Pakistan is the prominent rise in Q-commerce. Consumers in Pakistan have shown a tremendous appetite for the innovative commerce model, as evident by the massive funding taking place, which has grown at 10x levels within the short span of 3 years.
