F-commerce Business

F-commerce means Facebook commerce. At present, billions of people use Facebook throughout the world. The number is not less in Bangladesh; it is around 46 million. According to the IDLC business review 2019, the f-commerce market in Bangladesh has business over 312 crores. This study also shows that more than 300,000 online Bangladeshi stores run through Facebook. This vast number testament that Bangladesh is now on the way to the F-commerce revolution.

Some problems that F-commerce facing

The use of social media platforms for expanding the business may seem very easy, but often there create some issues. Let us see some issues that f-commerce is often facing.

• Tariff on import

Most F-commerce sellers in Bangladesh are import-based. They sell their product by taking pre-order. As a result, they became a retail importer and faced high import tariffs. This selling mechanism increases the cost at the customer level.

• Logistic support

Lack of logistic support is another critical issue for expanding F-commerce. Usually, e-commerce platforms have a dedicated shipping mechanism, but F-commerce does not have anything like that. As a result, they depend on the local delivery partner or currier services. This third-party shipping mechanism increases the delivery charge and entire cost.

• No proper business model

Most F-commerce business owners are new and do not have any previous experience in the market. They do not even have direct knowledge of accurate business processes. Without expertise and a proper business model, business owners face loss at a different level. The knowledge gap does not allow the business to run long.

• Lost revenue

There is no regulatory body at the F-commerce platform, so the government cannot collect any tax from the business owner. During the pandemic, more people depend on online shopping, and the F-commerce pages have done their business over 300 crores. Unfortunately, the government doesn’t get any sales tax for this vast amount.

• Customer fraud

As most F-commerce business owners are new, many of them do not have any professionalism or ethical values. As a result, customer fraud becomes a countless incident. Often customers report that the seller has cheated them. They didn’t get the product after paying in advance.

Prospect of the F-commerce

Well, it is not only the negative side, but it also has some positive impact on the total economy. In the F-commerce sector, virtually no investment needs for a single startup. During the last 3 years, many women have become successful business owners on this platform. In fact, F-commerce now plays an essential role in women’s empowerment. If we consider the overall scenery, both vendor and customer are be benefitted in this sector. With some limitations still, F-commerce has a lot of prospects in Bangladesh. So, the government should immediately take some regulatory steps to give F-commerce the correct format.