Speaker
Description
Digital advancement has made the online marketing increasingly popular worldwide. A branch of e-commerce known as “social commerce” has emerged utilizing social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram etc. to exchange products and services. In Bangladesh Facebook based social commerce (“f-commerce”) is the most popular form of e-commerce.
In f-commerce, about 0.3 million entrepreneurs in Bangladesh are currently selling various products, including agri-foods. Interestingly, 70% of these f-commerce businesses are owned by women. The popularity of f-commerce has created new opportunities for female entrepreneurs, because of its low entry barriers. Many Bangladeshi female entrepreneurs have started using digital platforms because they see it as an opportunity to empower themselves as the traditional Bangladeshi agricultural market is still dominated by men. The country’s government has also launched various initiatives to promote e-commerce entrepreneurship among women in Bangladesh, including seminars, trade fairs and conferences to support the empowerment of them.
Despite these important trends, studies on consumer attitudes for agricultural foods from f-commerce are limited. Considering the potential of f-commerce in Bangladesh, this contribution aims to explore consumer attitudes toward f-commerce, to buy rice and shrimps as example of agri-food with a focus on female entrepreneurs. The specific case of consumer perceptions of rice and shrimp sold by female entrepreneurs was selected because rice is the staple food of Bangladesh, with per capita consumption at 116 kg per year and shrimp is one of the most popular sea-food with a rapidly increasing demand in the country. Both these agri-food products are marketed by female entrepreneurs in the country’s f-commerce platform. The aim of this study is to identify a) the factors that drive consumers to purchase rice and shrimp via f-commerce, (b) the risks consumers perceive in buying rice and shrimp through f-commerce, and (c) the factors that influence consumers in deciding whether to buy rice and shrimp specifically from female f-commerce entrepreneurs.
Five online audiovisual focus group discussions were conducted with 41 consumers from Dhaka, Bangladesh in June 2022 with semi-structured guideline. The participants were selected using snowball sampling method. A qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data.
The results indicate that in light of modern and busy lifestyles consumers interest in online shopping is increasing. Convenience has emerged as the primary motive for purchasing agri-food through f-commerce, above all to avoid the time and “hassle” involved in physical shopping. In addition, consumers choose f-commerce platforms because of the specific offers such as area-specific special rice and processed shrimp. These products from f-commerce are perceived to be better of quality than those available in traditional markets and supermarkets. Notwithstanding these perceived benefits, a widespread lack of trust remains a major barrier to greater engagement in buying food through f-commerce. Lack of quality assurance and certification of the authenticity of f-commerce sellers are also significant barriers and a key reason why consumers still prefer shopping for agri-food in physical markets. The perishability of certain foods like shrimp is another reason why consumers continue to purchase these products from physical retail outlets. The results also show that consumers mainly focus on “social proof” like reviews, ratings, recommendations, activity of the business page and transparency about product information and price, while buying from f-commerce. One focus of our study was on consumer perceptions of female entrepreneurs selling agri-food in the f-commerce market. Here we found that consumers appreciate the opportunity for self-dependence that f-commerce platforms provide for female entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. But, consumers mainly prioritize product quality and service over the gender of sellers when buying food in this market, and women enjoy no advantage in this respect.
As trust came out as a major issue in f-commerce shopping, to overcome these and make f-commerce shopping more attractive, a quality assurance system would be helpful to increase trust among consumers. Such assurance could be achieved in various ways, ideally through a combination of the following measures. First, policymakers could introduce regulations governing the opening of business pages in f-commerce platforms, which at present is possible for anyone, including non-authentic sellers. This measure for enhancing trust should be accompanied by rules for cold chain systems that ensure product freshness. In addition, entrepreneurs themselves can build consumer trust by increasing the transparency of their business homepages, making sure these are frequently updated with current price and product information, reviews, and ratings. Since product quality and service is the main priority of the consumers rather than the gender of the seller, to be successful in the f-commerce market female entrepreneurs need to fulfil consumer expectations by offering reliable and high-quality products and services. Implementing the strategies suggested above, including maintaining an active business page, valuing consumer feedback, and ensuring reasonable pricing, can increase confidence not only in female entrepreneurs but in f-commerce more generally. To support female entrepreneurs, policymakers should take more active measures, such as providing training and workshop facilities for female entrepreneurs to enhance their skills and nurture their potential for success in competitive f-commerce platforms.
Keywords: consumer perception, f-commerce, purchase behavior, social commerce, Female entrepreneurs
