Pakistan’s entry into Amazon’s seller list has provided a golden opportunity to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and individuals to sell their products to global markets.
According to estimates, there are 310 million active Amazon customer accounts worldwide, 90 million of which are Amazon Prime members who spend an average of $1,300 per year on the platform, with the remaining 220 million non-Prime members spending an average of $700.
At least 104 countries, including India and Bangladesh, are on the seller list which allows their citizens and businesses to sell products on the website to millions of consumers across the world. The number of SMEs registered on Amazon is around 20,000, reported BBC Urdu.
“At least 70,000 small businesses in India are registered on Amazon and they make about $2 billion from selling their products on the e-commerce giant yearly,” Badar Kushnood, a senior member of the National e-Commerce Council, told BBC Urdu. “If Pakistani businesses manage to make $2bn off Amazon, it would be equivalent to 10 per cent of Pakistan’s total exports,” he said, adding that Pakistan exports stand at $20-22bn.
According to Kushnood, instead of traditional business-to-business transactions, Amazon provides a business-to-consumer platform that would help entrepreneurs sell their products directly to the consumers bypassing third parties or middlemen.
Commerce Ministry official Ayesha Moryani said that Amazon provides Pakistanis an opportunity to access 300 million-strong market. She said the government can cash in on this opportunity by imparting required skills to the people so that they can register themselves on the seller list and start selling their products to consumers across the world.
In North America alone, the revenue generated through business on Amazon is $80 billion, she said, adding that Pakistani products, such as shawls and clothes, are highly sought after.
She said the ministry is in talks with the finance ministry seeking tax exemptions for the e-commerce sector to attract more people to this trade.
Earlier this week, Amazon announced it would add Pakistan to the list of the sellers in a few days. This development is a stepping stone which will change the e-commerce sector in Pakistan.
Amazon is an American multi-national technology company that focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming and artificial intelligence. The company has been referred to as one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world, as well as the world’s most valuable brand.
