I would be talking about online shopping challenges in Pakistan that might especially be of interest to the E-commerce business. And while I do that, I would also mention a bit of shopping done by physically visiting retail outlets. So let’s start off with the challenges I face while shopping here.
Online Shopping Challenges in Pakistan
For many years I was shopping from ASOS for clothes, shoes, accessories, and makeup. The only website I knew to offer international standard shipping to Pakistan that did not charge for delivery. This website lists high street labels as well as a few big brands in different categories. But then, Covid struck and the site started offering only express delivery. Delivery charges are now approx. 26 USD. Once the parcel reaches your doorstep, a hefty custom is further charged at around 31–62 USD, depending on the parcel’s weight and value. This gets quite expensive on top of shopping for a minimum order value of approx. 39 USD. Unfortunately, we don’t have the privilege of Amazon and eBay operating here. They ship only a limited category with significant shipping charges on them. A few more international online clothing websites including those offering beauty products charge express shipping as well such as Nordstrom, but with the same payment structure.
I then quit shopping from ASOS and then switched to AliExpress but only for a few months. This site offers Chinese products. Since I am talking about premium shopping, I haven’t seen any online fashion brands. And brands in beauty category are especially skeptical. I am saying this from my experience. I ordered Mizon, Laneige, The Ordinary, and some more k-beauty. The products came out fake even after checking reviews, seller ratings, and direct communication. I don’t use local websites like Daraz because although it keeps a few international fashion and beauty brands, it does not stock latest product ranges. Their prices for those brands are also high, and seller ratings and reviews are low.
After that, I thoroughly Googled local websites that offer imported quality brands. These websites import products from brands’ distributors and sell online. I shortlisted two who also had authorized dealers of a few Korean beauty brands. I gave two skincare websites The SkinMASKuerade and Beauty Glance a try and the experience turned out to be excellent. They delivered in two business days, and the products were original and fresh from Korea.
I am not getting to shop for clothing and shoes as I used to from ASOS because of the unavailability of websites offering international fashion brands. Finding latest product ranges in fashion as well as beauty categories is a challenge in the region. Any international brands available here keep the stock that is from a year or two ago. But the good news is that a few very promising E-commerce businesses are emerging offering authentic international brands in almost every category. They are also offering very good customer service in major cities. This led me to try another website JOMO that had a good range of shoes. I ordered these boots that turned out to be extremely high quality and customer experience was absolutely amazing. I have posted those shoes on my Instagram. Those boots turned out to be even better than all those I ever got from ASOS. A few more prominent and reliable online retailers offering international fashion and beauty brands are Elegancia, Gonire, Warp, Bagallery, Lama, and Knock n Shop.
But what about shopping for them physically?
Shopping by visiting physical stores
We have brands like Mango, Next, Monsoon, H&M, ALDO, Diesel, and a few others. In a few shopping malls, more international brands are also there. Local shopping for Eastern wear is not an issue but shopping for quality and latest Western wear is. As the country is discouraging imports by taxing them, shopping for international products is relatively expensive for consumers.
Most shopping in the country is of Eastern clothing for both men and women, followed by Western clothing. In the beauty category, consumers usually shop for makeup in Pakistan. Recently a trend is being observed rising for skincare. People are usually seen buying skincare kits of international brands including serums and moisturizers for instance. But this is to highlight that they do not have much knowledge of those products, especially the ingredients within. There is still less awareness and exposure of people to these brands because of low access to buy or have knowledge about them (this is where I step in). In makeup category, people usually buy drugstore brands available in market e.g. L’Oreal, Maybelline, etc. A few new retail stores have opened that are supplying a very limited range of imported brands but at steep prices because of huge duties on them.
The next few posts would be curated on makeup, shoes, and lifestyle with my thorough critic. I hope you enjoy your time on my blog and find it helpful. Check my other posts and get caught up. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below, and what you would like to see in the upcoming posts. Thank you so much for your time. Stay safe. Bye.
