If you are a Pakistani, you are likely to be addicted to shopping. Be it shopping in malls, in a local general store or the always fascinating window shopping, people from this part of the world are always keeping themselves busy. The boom in the internet shopping also hit Pakistan but despite initial promise, it has failed to reach greater heights. Unlike the rest of the world, where online shopping is as easy as saying one, two and three, it is tricky and sluggish here.

In neighbouring India, buying and selling online is an everyday exercise. Online websites in Pakistan haven’t been able to become a rage like that. The reasons for such a response from the potential buyers include bad promotion, high prices and no guidance. Even today, people in supermarkets need guidance to buy everyday items. So why should online shopping be different?

Ovais Sohail, head of marketing, Arif Habib Group, feels internet shopping has a bright future in Pakistan, if minor changes are made to it. Explaining the phenomenon, he says, “Online shopping is still a taboo in our local market. People have reservations using their credit card and sharing information on the internet. In early part of the last decade, there were a few e-commerce websites but they failed to grab the attention of general public because of the complexities in online transactions.

“Using credit card online was more a threat than a convenience then. For the past 10 years, Pakistan has made giant strides in the field of internet mainly because people have started taking interest in it. However, people still need time to adjust to the phenomenon of online shopping just like they took time to accept internet as a necessity, instead of a luxury.”

Is Pakistan still far away from the time when a potential buyer and seller would be able to deal in used books, DVDs, computer accessories and even antique items online? Will Pakistan ever become a profitable market for online shopping like the rest of the world? “Times have changed and people have become smarter… they will shop freely with the introduction of security products like Versigns. Banks can play a major role in encouraging potential buyers and sellers by certifying websites offering online shopping. This will encourage the overall constructive use of internet and will accelerate banks revenues as well,” explains Sohail.

Banker Shakil Ahmed Khan also feels posting an order online is a hindrance in the development of online shopping. “People in Pakistan are not as tech savvy as those abroad. Only a handful of people, that too in the elite and middle class, have access to the internet, can understand and type English and purchase items on the net. Those who do get past the trouble to select their purchases err in the procedure from entering addresses on the order page to paying for purchases. If online selling is to be made friendly, the websites will have to make the process of placing an order easy. The easier the process, the better it is. Right now, it’s a hassle as far as I am concerned.”

There are a lot of people who feel lack of awareness is one of the reasons why people are afraid of going online to buy and sell. Samina Farooqi Ahmed, a school teacher, is one of them. “I would love to pay my children’s school fee or my internet bill online, yet I don‘t know whether I can do it or not. Websites and banks must generate awareness and facilitate consumers. It will help them in the longer run.”

Youngsters feel that better marketing is the need of the hour for shopping websites. “In Pakistan, shopping sites like Amazon and Barnes and Nobles are more popular than local websites because we don’t know where to shop, which place is credible and what is the best place to shop,” says Asif Faruqi, a university student.

“I have never seen an advertisement promoting local websites anywhere on the net or off it which is sad. When you shop in the real world, you know the right place, which gives it an edge over shopping online,” he adds.

Outside Pakistan, the internet has emerged as a medium where people can sell stuff without worrying about overheads such as rent, nonsensical taxes and rowdy customers. Shoppers in Pakistan will have to experience shopping online in order to make the medium a success. The example of ATM’s arrival in the country should be a case study which became a necessity after initial hiccups and learning from its mistakes.

In order to achieve positive results, the website developers will not only have to extensively advertise about their product but make it as user friendly as possible.