KARACHI -  Pakistan is constantly being included among the fastest growing e-commerce markets in the world. Currently estimated at over $120 million, the country’s e-commerce sector is multiplying in size every year, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 100%. As per Google’s analysis, this trend will continue during the next three to five years and help the sector surpass the $1 billion mark in 2020. Pakistan’s internet penetration – estimated at 18% currently - is the real facilitator for the recent growth in e-commerce.

This was stated by Salman Hasan, CEO – TCS ECOM, while talking to TheNation. With growing internet penetration, availability of smartphones and slow but steady increase in awareness, the future for e-commerce in Pakistan looks bright.

He said future growth of this sector was the thought in mind when TCS set up TCS e-com as a separate entity two years ago. The company understood that e-commerce was a whole new market and a high growth area for the future and we committed to taking TCS forward into this exciting and fast-paced business.

“We are also seeing a lot of foreign interest in Pakistan’s market potential, one of the first being Rocket Internet of course and now we have recently seen Alibaba Group's interest in investing in Pakistan's e-commerce sector – with potential collaboration opportunities being of great interest to all the relevant stakeholders,” Hasan said, adding that government is also taking considerable interest in this sector by setting up joint public and private working groups for policy development. TCS is proud to be one of the three companies invited from the private sector for this landmark initiative,

He said there are a lot of big players in the market but the Yayvo business model is very different. We believe that Yayvo is not a typical e-commerce company but something more as we have the support of the nation’s largest logistics conglomerate which ensures that our customers receive their orders and purchased goods in a better and faster manner than anyone else.

Replying to a query, he said globally, e-commerce has seen a host of different innovations. These include drone delivery, augmented reality technology which provides a 3-D shopping experience for users, and the use of digital payment platforms to ease financial transactions for customers. In addition, e-commerce has also contributed to the gradual extinction of physical wallet usage whereby upgrades to consumers’ mobile devices and merchants’ point-of-sale systems will spell the end of the traditional wallet.

We feel right now that fastest delivery is the biggest difference maker for customers in Pakistan.

When asked as to what area or niche he think is yet to be explored, he said the e-commerce industry has lots to discover, explore and learn. At Yayvo, as we progress, we would like to transcend our reach and explore all possible options, be it drone delivery, NFC payment solutions, and even delve into possibilities never discovered before.