IntroductionOnline shopping or online retailing is a form of electronic commerce whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet without an intermediary service. An online shop, e-shop, e-store, internet shop, web-shop, web-store, online store, or virtual store evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a bricks-and-mortar retailer or shopping centre. The process is called business-to-consumer (B2C) online shopping. When a business buys from another business it is called business-to-business (B2B) online shopping. The largest online retailing corporations are EBay and Amazon.com, both of which are US-based.In 1990 Tim Berners-Lee created the first World Wide Web server and browser. It opened for commercial use in 1991. In 1994 other advances took place, such as online banking and the opening of an online pizza shop by Pizza Hut. During that same year, Netscape introduced SSL encryption of data transferred online, which has become essential for secure online shopping. Also in 1994 the German company Intershop introduced its first online shopping system. In 1995 Amazon launched its online shopping site, and in 1996 eBay appeared.In this report we will try to explore current e-business scenario in Bangladesh. Our research will be conducted in order to indentify various challenges and obstacles in the process of e-shopping. We will also try to shed light on probable solutions to those obstacles and thus see the prospect of e-shopping in Bangladesh.

Research Objectives:Objectives of the report can be defined as follows: To analyze overall current scenario of e-shopping section in Bangladesh To analyze the factors which are creating obstacles in the path of e-shopping process. Factors that have been considered in this aspect are: Preference for super store over online shopping Consumers receptiveness over product quality Difficulty in product delivery Lack of government financial incentive To analyze the factors which provide that basis for prospects and opportunities for e-shopping sector in Bangladesh. Following factors have been considered in this regard. Perceived convenience of e-shopping Security concern Product availability and diversity Entrepreneurs interest Present state of infrastructure To examine and analyze various e-shopping models that exist in our country in present circumstances.

SignificanceAs we have discussed earlier e-shopping is a way of conducting business over the Internet. Though it is a relatively new concept in Bangladesh, it has the potential to alter the traditional form of economic activities. Already it has its effects on some large sectors such as communications, finance and retail trade and it holds promises in areas of education, health and government. The largest effects may be associated not with many of the impacts that command the most attention (i.e. customized product, elimination of middlemen) but with less visible, but potentially more pervasive, effects on routine business activities (i.e. ordering office supplies, paying bills, estimating demand).

Background StudiesVarious kinds of researches have been conducted over the years on e-shopping. Many of those reports covered issues such as brief description of e-shopping, prospects and challenges of that particular business in both global and local perspective. Most of those reports however focused on online purchase of manufacturing products other than services. Many of the reports that we searched have studied e-shopping from an overall or global view, however, we have taken only those issues in consideration that can have an implication in Bangladeshs context. This had to be done as there is a scarcity of reports focusing exclusively on issues of prospects and challenges of e-shopping in Bangladesh.Online shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time, without an intermediary service, over the Internet. It is a form of electronic commerce. An online shop, e-shop, e-store, internet shop, web-shop, web-store, online store, or virtual store evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a bricks-and-mortar retailer or in a shopping center. The process is called Business-to-Consumer (B2C) online shopping. When a business buys from another business it is called Business-to-Business (B2B) online shopping.History of e-shopping points to one event of 1990 when Tim Berners-Lee created the first World Wide Web server and browser. It opened for commercial use in 1991. In 1994 other advances took place, such as online banking and the opening of an online pizza shop by Pizza Hut. During that same year, Netscape introduced SSL encryption of data transferred online, which has become essential for secure online shopping. Also in 1994 the German company Intershop introduced its first online shopping system. In 1995 Amazon launched its online shopping site, and in 1996 eBay appeared. Now lets have a look at e-shopping in the context of our country. In Bangladesh situation isnt that much favorable for entrepreneurs due to high inflation rate, interruption of regular power supply, inadequacy of capital sourcing for startup entrepreneurs. Despite all these barriers our entrepreneurs are taking initiatives to make progresses happen not only for themselves but also for the society and the country as a whole. As technology is becoming an everyday accessory and rate of Internet penetration is increasing like wild fire people tendency to on-line shopping is on rise. The most important reason behind a rise in on-line shopping trend is time scarcity of modern life style. We are now living in an age of scarce time. Shopping regularly for daily products is a luxury to this time scarce society. As the trends show in near future the rate and extend of on-line shopping will be increased in manifold. Taking indicators like increasing Internet penetration, life style change, time scarcity into consideration it can be a safe prediction that online shopping will be a phenomenon in near future.

ScopeThe scope of the report is limited to the practical and theoretical aspect. Practical experience and data collection from different companies on online shopping in Bangladesh is considered in this process and analysing this data this report is furnished. The report also covered information from some books, magazines, articles and various websites of different online shopping stores of the country and incorporation of this ideas/knowledge in the report have been introduced as well. The report will cover following broad areas: Current scenario of e-shopping in Bangladesh Various obstacles in the path of e-business process Opportunities and prospects of e-shopping Different e-shopping models

Methodology Data Collection:Data have collected both from primary and secondary sourcesPrimary source: Survey, face-to-face interview.Secondary source: Online reports, websites, different books, articles, journals etc. Methods for Analysis:Regression models, hypothesis and questionnaire have been developed to carry out the research. Details of those have been presented in following segments. Apart from that some theoretical analysis have also been carried out to shed light on various aspects of the report.

LimitationsFollowing can be considered as the limitations of the report: Focus can seem to be a bit narrow one, as we will be concentrating only on e-shopping rather than the whole e-business thing. Although being a relatively theoretical report, the information regarding comparison between the on ground situation in Bangladesh and abroad is unavailable in the report. As the online shopping is still at its booming yet auspicious condition in Bangladesh, the true picture of the real situation is not so easy to identify. Although there are numbers of studies have been done so far in this particular issue on foreign online shopping, adequate number of documents is yet not available to review and prepare comprehensive report from Bangladesh perspective and it has been reflected in the report prepared.

Problem IdentificationAs we mentioned earlier the objective of the report is assess the prospects and challenges of e-shopping in Bangladesh. To achieve this objective we have considered various factors that can stimulate or hinder e-shopping operations in our country. The problems which we sought out to solve through our report are given below:Core ProblemPresent state and future of e-shopping in Bangladesh in terms of prospects and challenges it faces.Research Problem Which factors can stimulate growth and enhance the prospect of e-shopping. Which factors can pose significant hindrance in the path of e-shopping operations in our country.

Approach to the ProblemTheory DevelopmentTo assess the present and future condition of e-shopping first we had to identify the factors involved in the subject matter. Our research pertaining to report unearthed quite a few factors that have substantial role to play in the context of e-shopping. Those factors have been further categorized depending on their respective role in the regression models that we have developed for our research. Categorization of the factors is as follows:Factors used to assess prospects Perceived convenience Security concern Product availability and diversity Entrepreneurs interest Present state of infrastructureFactors used to assess challenges Preference for super store over online shopping Consumers suspicion over product quality Difficulty in product delivery Lack of government financial incentiveModel DevelopmentTo conduct statistical analysis we have developed two regression models. Following are the models used in the reportRegression model to assess prospect:Y = X1b1 X2b2 + X3b3 + X4b4 + X5b5Y = Prospect of online shopping in BDX1 = Perceived convenienceX2= Security concernX3= Product availability and diversityX4= Entrepreneurs interestX5= Present state of infrastructure

Regression model to assess challenges:Y= X1b1 + X2b2 + X3b3 + X4b4 Y= Challenges of online shopping in BDX1= Preference for super store over online shoppingX2= Consumers suspicion over product quality X3= Difficulty in product delivery X4= Lack of government financial incentiveInformation SearchInformation has been searched through both primary and secondary sources. Survey questionnaire has been extensively used to collect data from primary sources. In other cases various reports, journals have studied to assess the situation and obtain information related to the report topic.Research Question and Hypothesis DevelopmentIn the earlier part of our research process, through exploratory research, we have identified some factors that has a role to play in the prospects and challenges of e-shopping. To measure the influence of these factors, we needed to conduct some research questions and hypothesis. We developed our questionnaire in such a way that we could get adequate information on various factors and we established our hypothesis to check the validity of various factors involved.Research QuestionsTwo sets of questionnaire have been developed two collect the data. One was to have feedback from consumers and the other was used to have feedback from owners. Both of the questionnaires have been appended in the Appendix section of the report.HypothesesFollowing hypotheses have been developed to carry out the research. Two categories of hypotheses were developed one group was related to prospects and the other was related to challenges.Hypotheses related to prospectsIn case of the Prospect model, the null hypotheses can be put as:1. Ho: Positive prospects on e-shopping does not depend on convenience.H1: Positive prospects on e-shopping depends on convenience.2. Ho: Positive prospects on e-shopping does not depend on security concerns.H1: Positive prospects on e-shopping depends on security concerns.3. Ho: Positive prospects on e-shopping does not depend on availability & diversity.H1: Positive prospects on e-shopping does depend on availability & diversity.4. Ho: Positive prospects on e-shopping does not depend on entrepreneurs interest aka incentives.H1: Positive prospects on e-shopping does depend on entrepreneurs interest aka incentives.5. Ho: Positive prospects on e-shopping does not depend on infrastructure.H1: Positive prospects on e-shopping does depend on infrastructure.

In case of the Challenges model, the null hypotheses can be put as:1. Ho: Challenges in e-shopping is not motivated by Customer receptiveness.H1: Challenges in e-shopping is motivated by Customer receptiveness.2. Ho: Challenges in e-shopping is not motivated by Consumers suspicion over product quality.H1: Challenges in e-shopping is motivated by Consumers suspicion over product quality.3. Ho: Challenges in e-shopping is not motivated by Difficulty in product delivery.H1: Challenges in e-shopping is motivated by Difficulty in product delivery.4. Ho: Challenges in e-shopping is not motivated by Lack of government financial incentives.H1: Challenges in e-shopping is motivated by Lack of government financial incentives.Research DesignTo find out the triggering factors, we have conducted the research in the Exploratory Research Design format.There has been an Approach developed for further research and done to find and fix its components like- Objective/Theoretical Foundations, Analytical Model, Research Questions, Hypotheses and Specification of the Information needed. Now we will shift to a Quantitative approach known as Conclusive Research Design. Because its will be more efficient, structured and formal design process. Data analyzing are more reliable in this approach. So now we will conduct the Descriptive and the Causal Research to meet the proper accuracy on our marketing research process.Questionnaire DesignFor the purpose of the study two sets of questionnaires have been developed, one is to take feedback from consumers and another is to take feedback from owners. Based on exploratory research we have developed 20 questioners altogether. This research included questions considering five factors to assess prospects and four factors to assess challenges. A Likert scale was used to question the respondents on the five point scale. The respondents were asked to rate on the scale between Strongly Agree and Strongly Disagree. This research aims to study prospects and challenges involved in e-shopping in Bangladesh. This project primarily uses quantitative tools with help from qualitative information. For quantitative results, the research design involves descriptive research using survey method. Thus a structured questionnaire has been used to elicit the specific information. The sample size used for the project is 30 respondents for consumers and 12 respondents for owners.

Current Scenario of e-shopping in BangladeshBefore going into prospects and challenges lets first discuss a bit about the current scenario of e-shopping in Bangladesh as found from various reports and websites. Of all the operating e-shopping businesses three broad segments can be classified, one group serves as an e-shopping hub connecting buyers and sellers; another group sells their own products through their websites; and the other group uses social networking sites to conduct e-shopping business. Below are some brief descriptions of these groups.Companies that work as a shopping hubLets first look at some of the companies that work as a shopping hub.Akhoni.comAkhoni.comis an online marketplace featuring discount deals with popular businesses.It provides discount deals with large number of businesses like- restaurants, hotels, theaters, fashion houses, Internet services, transports, beauty parlors and saloons, theme parks, gymnasiums, furniture shops, sports and recreation centers, etc.Customers can sign up in the website to get regular deal alert on their email at free of cost. They can receive the deal voucher instantly on their web browser and through email by making payment instantly using VISA, MasterCard or DBBL Nexus card or can also choose to book the deal online and pay cash when the coupon is delivered to their home. Then, the customer will show the voucher at the merchant location to enjoy the deal.Attraction of the website is offering huge discounts to the customers, 50 to 90 per cent discounts are alluring people to log on to the website instead of going out for buying the products. Price hike is one of the major concerns of mass people so offering discount opens up lots of opportunities for the company mentioned above.Clickbd.comClickBD.com started its operations in April 14, 2005, according to Clickbd.com, as the first e-commerce portal in Bangladesh. ClickBD is an online marketplace where anyone can sell or buy almost anything.The site has a strong and growing community of users who trade in a wide range of item categories including Electronics, Cameras, Phones, Computers, CDs, Mobiles, Fashion Accessories, Music, and Travel.Through a world-class technology infrastructure ClickBD enables & simplifies e-commerce for Bangladeshs ever expanding online community.Cellbazar.comOriginally designed as a classroom project at MIT, CellBazaar is one of the most successful online and mobile shopping platforms. CellBazaar service (http://www.cellbazaar.com) allows people to buy and sell over mobile phones or computers.Anyone with a computer and internet, as well as Grameenphone users through their mobile phones are taking advantages of this service. Users can buy agricultural products, such as rice, fish, chicken, as well as large scale items like car, motorcycle, TV, fridge, apartment, land, etc. People can also offer services such as language tutoring (very relevant for migrants going abroad).The service is customer focused, who post items for sale, delete items after they are sold, and even adjust their own prices if they fail to get a buyer. For the first time, the producers of agricultural products can directly negotiate price with buyers and agro-processors.The technology works on four synchronized platforms SMS (send SMS to 3838 to buy and sell), WAP (easy, graphic interface), WEB (viewable by global audience), and IVR (call 3838 to hear latest items).Hutbazar.comHutbazar.com, a sister concern of Right IT Corporation, pioneered online comparison shopping and today is one of the fastest growing shopping destinations for a comprehensive set of products from thousands of trusted stores from across the Web.With a singular focus on shopping, Hutbazar.com offers shoppers easy-to-use search tools, engaging content and time saving navigation.There are also other sites such as Cloudbd.com and Bdhaat.com who are successfully running similar business ventures.Companies that sell their products through their websitesNow lets turn our focus on the companies who sell or are in the process to sell their own products through their websites.Bashundhara Star CineplexBashundhara Star Cineplex is the pioneer in the Dolby-Digital surround movie theater experience in our country. Their infrastructure is the most advanced one and world standard met facility in Bangladesh. At present they havent yet gone live as far as their ticketing system is concerned but they are in the process of realizing it soon. According to their website the will soon be developing their web-portal with capabilities of online booking and purchasing of movie tickets. They are also going to provide superior online choice of seats to their prime members.Amadergaan.comAmadergaan.com is the biggest online portal for music in Bangladesh. They are not just a site where you can discuss and analyze and get previews of upcoming and buzzing music of the country but one can also purchase albums or solos online. They promote anti-piracy, hence developing authentic music sales and e-shopping. They dont exist only virtually but time to time their forum organizes events where musicians and music lovers can share the same platform for interaction and exploration. Their technical infrastructure for monetary transaction maintains high standard to prevent any fraudulent activities. Companies that use social networking sitesRecently, there has been a new form of online marketing through the social networking sites (especially Facebook) by entrepreneurs. Sellers have their detailed portfolio displayed through these sites as business pages. These pages get displayed through ads, through share of users. A massive number people using social networking sites for entire online communication need, some business person believe that this is a more effective form of marketing. The payment system is similar to that of e-shopping sites, only the environment is more cordial, site being based on social networking. The owners create a personal link through active approach towards customers and get a direct feedback through likes and shares. Some of the ventures as such are listed below: Shadamon, the exclusive fashion store Achillies, contemporary fashion house

Following are some of the factors that are considered to be crucial by various authors with respect to e-shopping. As we have mentioned earlier authors have focused on these issues from a global perspective and we have considered those points only which can be applied in Bangladeshs context. Thus the below mentioned factors play an important role determining the prospects and challenges of e-shopping in Bangladesh.CustomersIn recent years, online shopping has become popular; however, it still caters to the middle and upper class as in order to shop online, one must be able to have access to a computer and internet. Shopping has evolved with the growth of technology. Electronic shopping exists as for customers it is not only because of the high level of convenience, but also because of the broader selection; competitive pricing and greater access to information. So the volume of middle and upper level customers having an access to internet and computer play a pivotal role in the e-shopping industry.Information loadDesigners of online shops should consider the effects of information load. Mehrabian and Russel introduced the concept of information rate (load) as the complex spatial and temporal arrangements of stimuli within a setting. The notion of information load is directly related to concerns about whether consumers can be given too much information in virtual shopping environments. Compared with conventional retail shopping, computer shopping enriches the information environment of virtual shopping by providing additional product information, such as comparative products and services, as well as various alternatives and attributes of each alternative, etc.

Pros and Cons of e-shopping in Bangladeshs ContextProspects and challenges of e-shopping in Bangladesh stem from its advantages and disadvantages. Principal advantage of e-shopping is that the process enables buyers and sellers to do business without any physical interaction. This alone is a great advantage considering the hassle one has to go through to go to shop to pick up his or needed merchandise. Online marketplace thus can save great amount of time for consumers making their life a lot easier. Following is some brief advantages and disadvantages of e-shopping that can be applied from Bangladeshs perspective.AdvantagesConvenienceOnline stores are usually available 24 hours a day and a visit to a conventional retail store requires travel and given the current traffic situation in BD the whole process eats up considerable amount of peoples precious time. Thus Peoples need to save some of their valuable time can be exploited by the e-shopping industry.Information and reviewsOnline stores must describe products for sale with text, photos, and multimedia files, whereas in a physical retail store, the actual product and the manufacturer's packaging will be available for direct inspection. Some online stores provide or link to supplemental product information, such as instructions, safety procedures, demonstrations, or manufacturer specifications. Some provide background information, advice, or how-to guides designed to help consumers decide which product to buy. Some stores even allow customers to comment or rate their items. There are also dedicated review sites that host user reviews for different products. In a conventional retail store, clerks are generally available to answer questions. Some online stores have real-time chat features, but most rely on e-mail or phone calls to handle customer questions.Price and selectionOne advantage of shopping online is being able to quickly seek out deals for items or services with many different vendors. Search engines, online price comparison services and discovery shopping engines can be used to look up sellers of a particular product or service. Shipping costs (if applicable) reduce the price advantage of online merchandise. Another major advantage for retailers is the ability to rapidly switch suppliers and vendors without disrupting users' shopping experience. Some retailers (especially those selling small, high-value items like electronics) offer free shipping on sufficiently large orders. Another major advantage for retailers is the ability to rapidly switch suppliers and vendors without disrupting users' shopping experience.DisadvantagesFraud and security concernsGiven the lack of ability to inspect merchandise before purchase, consumers are at higher risk of fraud on the part of the merchant than in a physical store. Merchants also risk fraudulent purchases using stolen credit cards or fraudulent repudiation of the online purchase. Computer security has thus become a major concern for merchants and e-commerce service providers, who deploy countermeasures such as firewalls and anti-virus software to protect their networks. Computer security has thus become a major concern for merchants and e-commerce service providers, who deploy countermeasures such as firewalls and anti-virus software to protect their networks. Phishing is another danger, where consumers are fooled into thinking they are dealing with a reputable retailer, when they have actually been manipulated into feeding private information to a system operated by a malicious party.Quality seals can be placed on the Shop web page if it has undergone an independent assessment and meets all requirements of the company issuing the seal. The purpose of these seals is to increase the confidence of the online shoppers; the existence of many different seals, or seals unfamiliar to consumers, may foil this effort to a certain extent.Lack of full cost disclosureThe lack of full disclosure with regards to the total cost of purchase is one of the concerns of online shopping. While it may be easy to compare the base price of an item online, it may not be easy to see the total cost up front as additional fees such as shipping are often not be visible until the final step in the checkout process. The problem is especially evident with cross-border purchases, where the cost indicated at the final checkout screen may not include additional fees that must be paid upon delivery such as duties and brokerage.PrivacyPrivacy of personal information is a significant issue for some consumers. Different legal jurisdictions have different laws concerning consumer privacy, and different levels of enforcement. Many consumers wish to avoid spam and tele-marketing which could result from supplying contact information to an online merchant. In response, many merchants promise not to use consumer information for these purposes, or provide a mechanism to opt-out of such contacts.Product suitabilityNot all products are equally suitable for e-shopping rather products that are less suitable for e-commerce include products that have a low value-to-weight ratio, products that have a smell, taste, or touch component, products that need trial fittings, most notably clothing, and products where color integrity appears important.AccessibilityIn Bangladeshs context access to internet is a major concern for e-shopping businesses as a large portion of the countrys population is still out of the reach of internet service. This event significantly hampers e-shopping operations as it considerably minimizes target market.

Various e-shopping ModelsIn order to cope with the present world, almost all of the financial organizations and international businesses in Bangladesh enter in the information highway through hosting website. Banks and other financial organizations have started online transactions like fund transfer, payment etc.Various models of e-shopping can be categorized into four different groups: Business to Consumer (B2C) Consumer to consumer (C2C) Business to Business (B2B) Consumer to Business (C2B) Now lets have a comparative analysis of those models and to assess the situation in Bangladesh.Business to Consumer (B2C)B2C can also be referred as retail and it is termed as the sale of goods and services from businesses to the end-user. Many of the organization we investigated will fall under this category. Being business organization these institute can afford to have slightly greater advantage over C2C category in some areas such as finance, communication network.Consumer to consumer (C2C)Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) electronic commerce involves the electronically facilitated transactions between consumers through some third party. A common example is the online auction, in which a consumer posts an item for sale and other consumers bid to purchase it; the third party generally charges a flat fee or commission. The sites are only intermediaries, just there to match consumers. They do not have to check quality of the products being offered. This model of e-shopping is probably most commonly found in Bangladesh. ClickBD.com, cellbazaar etc. will fall under this category. They have few advantages in business operations such as they dont accept responsibility for faulty products etc.Business to Business (B2B) and Consumer to Business (C2B)Business-to-business (B2B) describes commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer. Contrasting terms are business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-government (B2G).On the other hand consumer-to-business (C2B) is a business model in which consumers create value, and firms consume this value. These two types of e-shopping models are yet not that much prevalent in Bangladesh yet. There might some problem related to infrastructure or may be businesses are yet not ready to accept considerable amount of product or services via these two particulars models.Analysis PartSo far we have talked about various theoretical aspects of our research. Now lets have a look at the analysis that we have accomplished to achieve the stated objectives of the report.In the first segment we have analyzed the demographics, preference of product array and general perception of the respondents. Following is presented the detailed part of the relevant analysis.DemographicsIncome level:Income of individuals

FrequencyPercentValid PercentCumulative Percent

Valid< 5000516.116.716.7

5000 - 100001135.536.753.3

10000 - 25000722.623.376.7

25000+722.623.3100.0

Total3096.8100.0

MissingSystem13.2

Total31100.0

This information is quite important for this research on e-shopping because potential involvement in e-shopping may depend on income structure. Here we see people of income level 10,000 Tk and onwards are mostly involved in e-shopping. However, students alone, having income level 5,000 10,000 Tk constitute a vast portion of e-shopping consumer base. Age Distribution:Age range of customers

FrequencyPercentValid PercentCumulative Percent

Valid18-251032.333.333.3

26-35929.030.063.3

36-45825.826.790.0

46+39.710.0100.0

Total3096.8100.0

MissingSystem13.2

Total31100.0

As the graph shows majority of the respondents are from 18-25 years of age. So as the sample suggests the majority of the buyers of online shopping will fall under that particular category of age. Profession:Profession of Consumer

FrequencyPercentValid PercentCumulative Percent

ValidStudent1032.333.333.3

Service Person722.623.356.7

Business Professional929.030.086.7

Others412.913.3100.0

Total3096.8100.0

MissingSystem13.2

Total31100.0

As we see, the professional segmentation reveals that, mass number of e-shopping consumers is students. An insight reveals that these are college going students with net savvy lifestyle and a steady pocket money source. Business and service people also consume significantly. Other occupations may include medical professionals, freelancers etc.Preference of Product Array/ Types of products:

As we see, majority of online customers consume electronic gadgets. The demand for clothes is also remarkable.General perception about obstacle in e-shopping prospects:

Physical judgment impossibility has been given considerable importance as an obstacle by many of the respondents. So, based on this sample data we can state that peoples perception regarding physical judgment impossibility is a significant obstacle in the path e-shopping growth in Bangladesh.Sample SelectionTo select the sample we have used non-probabilistic sampling method and which is convenient sample. A sample size of 30 was used to conduct the research on the consumer segment. Also, a sample of 12 e-shopping service providers was also taken into account to analyze the commercial perspective.Measurement of VariablesFor dependent variable we have 2 items in 2 models. And for independent variable, we had 9. Reliability and internal consistency of the multi item scales for each of the constructs were measured using Coefficient Alpha. And finally we use R2 value to determine how much our independent variable can explain the dependent variable. Reliability Coefficients(Overall)N of Cases = 30.0 N of Items = 15Alpha = .5381First, we will analyze reliability of the variables in the Prospect modelDimensionNumber of ItemsAlpha Values

Convenience (independent)1.322

Security Concern (independent)1.229

Availability and Diversity (independent)2.155

Entrepreneurs interest/incentives (independent)1.230

Infrastructure (Independent)1.281

Prospects (Dependent)1.207

Interpretation The reliability test of dependent variable for all the variables has been extracted from the reliability analysis. From the previous exploratory research the alpha stands to be .5381, which means that all the independent variables had an internal consistency of 53.81% among each other. Again individually from the column alpha if item deleted we can see that all the independent variables are below 0.5 and so there will be drastic significant change if any of the independent variables are deleted.Now, for the Challenge modelDimensionNumber of ItemsAlpha Values

Customer receptiveness/Preference over others (independent)1.221

Product Quality (independent)1.207

Product delivery (independent)1.155

Lack of legislation and incentives (independent)2.379

Challenges (Dependent)1.302

InterpretationAgain individually from the column alpha if item deleted we can see that all the independent variables are below 0.5 and so there will be drastic significant changes if any of the independent variables are deleted.

Data Analysais Result & FindingsAnalysais TechniquesOnce the reliability analysis was done, we calculated the mean value of dependent variables and independent variables. Finally, we completed the analysis part through regression analysis.Hypothesis TestingIn this section, we will test the corresponding hypotheses of respective regression models. In case of the Prospect model, the null hypotheses can be put as:1 Ho: Positive prospects on e-shopping does not depend on convenience.H1: Positive prospects on e-shopping depends on convenience.2 Ho: Positive prospects on e-shopping does not depend on security concerns.H1: Positive prospects on e-shopping depends on security concerns.3 Ho: Positive prospects on e-shopping does not depend on availability & diversity.H1: Positive prospects on e-shopping does depend on availability & diversity.4 Ho: Positive prospects on e-shopping does not depend on entrepreneurs interest aka incentives.H1: Positive prospects on e-shopping does depend on entrepreneurs interest aka incentives.5 Ho: Positive prospects on e-shopping does not depend on infrastructure.H1: Positive prospects on e-shopping does depend on infrastructure.The findings from multiple regression analysis are listed as follows:Independent VariablesStandardized Regression Coefficient ()t valueP

Convenience.3281.603.012

Security concern.2381.120.027

Product availability & diversity.189.918.046

Entrepreneurs interest and incentives.001.020.135

Infrastructure.110.536.031

The observed table shows that all the variables have significant values indicating major implications of these factors on e-shopping prospects. And as we can see that only P value of Entrepreneurs interest & incentives (.135) is larger than 0.05 and we know a p-value less than 0.05 would result in the rejection of the null hypothesis at the 5% (significance) level. So, in this case Ho null hypothesis is not rejected which is positive prospects of e-shopping does not depend on entrepreneurs interest and incentives. Other fact such as convenience, security concerns etc. have significant influence on the prospect of e-shopping in Bangladesh. So clearly in order to improve the situation people concerned need to take other factors into consideration and modify them so that prospect of the sector is enhanced. In case of the Challenges model, the null hypotheses can be put as:1 Ho: Challenges in e-shopping is not motivated by Customer receptiveness.H1: Challenges in e-shopping is motivated by Customer receptiveness.2 Ho: Challenges in e-shopping is not motivated by Consumers suspicion over product quality.H1: Challenges in e-shopping is motivated by Consumers suspicion over product quality.3 Ho: Challenges in e-shopping is not motivated by Difficulty in product delivery.H1: Challenges in e-shopping is motivated by Difficulty in product delivery.4 Ho: Challenges in e-shopping is not motivated by Lack of government financial incentives.H1: Challenges in e-shopping is motivated by Lack of government financial incentives.The findings from multiple regression analysis are listed as follows:Independent VariablesStandardized Regression Coefficient ()t valueP

Customer receptiveness.3271.789.0078

Suspicion over product quality.180.878.0368

Difficulty in product delivery.2551.283.024

Lack of government financial incentives.177.958.0895

The observed table shows that all the variables have significant values indicating major implications of these factors on e-shopping prospects. And as we can see that only P value of Lack of government financial incentives (.0895) is larger than 0.05 and we know a p-value less than 0.05 would result in the rejection of the null hypothesis at the 5% (significance) level. So, in this case Ho null hypothesis is not rejected which is challenges of e-shopping is not influenced by lack of government incentives. However, all other variables do have substantial impact on the challenges faced by e-shopping in our country. So to mitigate challenges factors such as suspicion over product quality, difficulty in product delivery etc. have to give prime importance. They need to be minimized as much as possible to ensure smooth business operation of e-shopping.

Regression AnalysisModel Summary (Prospects)ModelRR SquareAdjusted R SquareStd. Error of the Estimate

1.636.824.361.38

From the regression analysis, we have found that the Value of R Square is (.824). That means independent variables have 82.4% impact over the dependent variable. In other words, the dependent variable (Prospects in e-shopping) can be influenced 82.4% by the independent variable (Convenience, Security, Availability & Diversity, Entrepreneurs interest and Infrastructure).So, it means we can judge the impact of dependent variables on the independent variable with up to 82.4% accuracy. The rate of accuracy is quite good and it would help us to how prospect of e-shopping will be affected for a certain change in any of the significant factors such as, perceived convenience, product availability and diversity, security concerns etc. To enhance prospects of e-shopping the model can be used to determine how much change in the stated factors is needed to enhance the prospect to some considerable degree. Model Summary (Challenges)ModelRR SquareAdjusted R SquareStd. Error of the Estimate

1.492.842.317.41

From the regression analysis, we have found that the Value of R Square is (.842). That means independent variables have 84.2% impact over the dependent variable. In other words, the dependent variable (Challenges in e-shopping) can be influenced 84.2% by the independent variable (Customer receptiveness, Suspicion over product quality, Difficulty in product delivery, Lack of government financial incentive).Thus the figure suggests that we assess the impact of a change of independent variable on the dependent variable with about 84% accuracy. So, this model can be used to determine the change in the level of challenges faced by e-shopping given that any of the stated factors are changed. In this way the model can be used to mitigate challenges in an effective and efficient way.

RecommendationsSo far we have gone through various analyses regarding the prospects and challenges of e-shopping. Based on our analyses we have some recommendation to make which we believe will enhance the over scenario of e-shopping sector in Bangladesh. Perceived convenience of e-shopping has to be enhanced. Security issues have to minimized as much as possible to ensure smooth and continuous business transaction. Product diversity and availability have to be increased. Infrastructural development is needed such as, internet connectivity, access to banking services etc. Customers suspicion regarding product quality has to be mitigated as much as possible. Overall customer receptiveness has to be increased if e-shopping is to flourish in our country. This can be done through various effective marketing campaign and substantial advertisement.

ConclusionDespite all of the disadvantages and challenges it has been found from various papers and also from our analyses that e-shopping is a growing sector in Bangladesh and has lots of potential. Peoples interest to have a hassle free shopping is the prime driving force of its prospects. Lots of infrastructural development is needed to be done to make e-shopping a routine activity for many of the countrys citizens as advised by some of the authors. Both government and private sector initiatives are needed to make sure sustainable growth in this sector.