ABSTRACT

The digital trade in Pakistan is rising due to consumers’ preference to buy goods and services online. This research thesis focused on the comparative assessment of e-commerce policy of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. The research firstly focused on the customer satisfaction of consumers on the digital trade landscape in Pakistan. This includes the analysis of customer satisfaction on the Product, Service, Website Characteristics, Privacy Protection, Payment System, and Network System. The results show that the customers are inclined towards online buying and selling but there are few constraints that make them do physical shopping. The lack of efficient internet connection is one of the most important factors in this regard.

The second model consists of total five variables. The e-commerce transactions value is the dependent variable while the gross national income, mobile cellular subscriptions, internet penetration, and research and development are the independent variables. This model is used to analyze the panel relationship of e-commerce value with the independent variables. The results show that all the variables show a positive relationship with the e-commerce value.

The third model consists of five variables also. The GDP per capita is used as dependent variable, while the e-commerce value, gross capital formation, internet penetration, and trade openness are used as independent variables. This model shows the relationship of GDP per capita with the independent variables. This model analyzes the time series analysis of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. The results show that there is a positive relationship among the dependent and independent variables, however, only trade openness shows a negative relationship with GDP per capita.

The final analysis is done by consolidating the results of all three models and suggesting suitable policy recommendations for the e-commerce policy of Pakistan. The suggestions include the overhauling of digital infrastructure in the country, along with proper focus on logistics, consumer protection, data protection, and telecommunication services. This research also suggests bringing the foreign investment in the technology sector of Pakistan to boost the digital trade in the country.