Sri Lanka’s e-commerce market surges with Rs. 94 billion in transactions
The Morning: Sri Lanka’s e-commerce transaction values are closing at Rs. 100 billion per quarter, as the Q3 data for 2024 shows that transaction values have increased by 20% year-on-year (y-o-y) to about Rs. 95 billion.
According to the Payment Bulletin by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) for Q3, e-commerce transaction values stood at Rs. 94.5 billion, a 20.9% increase y-o-y and a 9.5% increase from the second quarter.
Moreover, the transaction volume stood at 30.5 million, an increase of 18.7% from the Q3 data in 2023, while 25 million transactions were done via debit cards, worth Rs. 59.6 billion.
In 2023, the e-commerce transaction values reached Rs. 288.5 billion with 98.4 million transactions. Already in the first nine months of 2024, the transaction value has reached Rs. 267 billion with 88.8 million transactions, indicating that 2024 is going to be the best year for e-commerce businesses in Sri Lanka.
According to DHL, the transaction value in the digital commerce market is projected to reach $ 4.61 billion in 2024.
According to the global e-commerce analytics platform e-commerce DB (ECDB), Sri Lanka’s e-commerce revenue is expected to show a compound annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2028) of 5.4%, resulting in a projected market volume of $ 3,017.8 million by 2028, with an expected increase of 11.5% in 2024.
Seven markets are considered by ECDB within the Sri Lankan e-commerce market. Electronics is the largest market and accounts for 24.4% of the Sri Lankan e-commerce revenue.
It is followed by hobby and leisure with 19.9%, fashion with 18.9%, furniture and homeware with 11.8%, grocery with 9.8%, care products with 8%, and DIY with the remaining 7.1%.
OSL take
The growth in Sri Lanka’s e-commerce market is indicative of the overall economic expansion in the country as well as the increasing demand for digital payment platforms in all sectors in the country. The country’s target of becoming a regional hub has expanded all key economic sectors in the country with special focus on the ICT and digital infrastructure development sectors. This has resulted in the Sri Lankan government also focusing on transforming the country into an e-economy while launching a programme to promote the country’s digital drive that would cover both the public and private sectors. The growth and profits recorded by local businesses engaged in the fields of ICT and digital infrastructure development is indicative of the lucrative nature of engaging in business or investments in these sectors while also indicating the growing business potential in these sectors as well. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore confidently explore the expanding business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s ICT and digital infrastructure development sectors that are on a constant evolution to be on par with the fast-evolving global trends. Foreign businesses looking at long term engagements could also look at forming partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses in the ICT and digital infrastructure development sectors in order to further expand operations.
Article Code : | VBS/AT/20250108/Z_1 |