An Evaluation of the Factors Influencing Customers’ Experience in Supermarkets of Bangladesh

The supermarket industry of Bangladesh came off the ground in the early 2000s. The industry has witnessed steady growth over this time-frame. Mostly run by three key players Shwapno, Agora and Meena Bazar, the industry has brought to a certain extent a major shift of consumer shopping preferences from mom-and-pop stores to the superstores. The rise of the middle class and its growing buying power drive the growth of Bangladesh's supermarket business. The sector is likely to witness further growth due to rapid urbanization and higher per capita income, according to market players. The market size of the country's supermarket is approximately Tk. 2,500 crore, and the growth has been nearly 15 percent per year over the past couple of years. Faced with many obstacles such as the imposition of VAT, scarcity of proper commercial space and a yet-to-be-robust value chain, the industry is making progress towards growth. The top players jumped on the bandwagon to create a superior "Supermarket Experience" for their valued customers. This study aims at investigating the factors that affect customers’ experience in supermarkets of Bangladesh. Secondary data were used to review the literature and primary data were used to conduct the analysis. A sample of 206 customers who regularly visit supermarkets were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Both descriptive and inferential analysis were used to analyze the data. Multivariate analysis such as- Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the factors that significantly influence customers’ experience in supermarkets. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify the relationship between the factors and the overall customers’ experience in supermarkets of Bangladesh. The result shows that factors such as, time saving, staff assistance and responsiveness, product authenticity with clear labeling, return policy, flexible mode of payment, convenient location and competitive pricing are the important factors that influence customers’ experience in supermarkets of Bangladesh. This study suggests that the super chain owners should focus more on saving customers’ time, staff assistance and responsiveness, ensuring authenticity of goods by clearly labeling, liberal return policy, flexible mode of payment such as- card and digital payment, convenient store location and competitive pricing of goods compared to the local wet markets to improve the customers’ experience in supermarkets of Bangladesh. Keywords: Customers’ experience, Time saving, Staff assistance, Product authenticity, Flexible mode of payment, Competitive pricing. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-26-02 Publication date:September 30th 201

Introduction of Bond Market: Would it be a possible Solution for Bangladesh?

This study aims at investigating the prospects of a bond market in Bangladesh. Most of the developed and developing economies have an active and successful bond market. But Bangladesh despite being one of the fastest-growing economies, does not have an active bond market. Hence, this study was designed to investigate the impact of a bond market on the economic growth of Asian countries and what are the prospects and challenges in Bangladesh. To investigate the benefits of a bond market in Bangladesh, this study examined the relationship between bond market return and economic growth of 4 Asian economies which included, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Japan. The average annual yield of 10-year bonds was used as the independent variable and the annual GDP growth rate of these countries was used as the dependent variable in the econometric model. Data for the last 20 years from 2000 to 2019 were used for all the variables. The Unit Root Test showed that 3 variables were stationary at first difference and the other five variables were stationary at level. The Johansen Co-integration test identified the long-run association among the variables indicating the long-run relationship between bond market return and economic growth. Granger Causality revealed a bi-directional relationship for India; unidirectional relationship for Indonesia (Bond→GDP growth) and Japan (GDP Growth→Bond); and no unidirectional or bidirectional relationship among the bond market return and economic growth of Hong Kong. The various new projects, the overextension of the banking sector, and perhaps the overall good condition of the economy has created the perfect situation to develop a bond market in Bangladesh. As there are conditions that provide advantages in bond market creation, there are also various challenges that the government must overcome. Some of the most important challenges to clear up are the underdeveloped tax system, the illiquid or absent secondary market, the alternative source of debt, and the overall lack of investors. Considering the various developed bond markets these policy implications could seriously aid the development process

Introduction of Bond Market: Would it be a possible Solution for Bangladesh?

This study aims at investigating the prospects of a bond market in Bangladesh. Most of the developed and developing economies have an active and successful bond market. But Bangladesh despite being one of the fastest-growing economies, does not have an active bond market. Hence, this study was designed to investigate the impact of a bond market on the economic growth of Asian countries and what are the prospects and challenges in Bangladesh. To investigate the benefits of a bond market in Bangladesh, this study examined the relationship between bond market return and economic growth of 4 Asian economies which included, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Japan. The average annual yield of 10-year bonds was used as the independent variable and the annual GDP growth rate of these countries was used as the dependent variable in the econometric model. Data for the last 20 years from 2000 to 2019 were used for all the variables. The Unit Root Test showed that 3 variables were stationary at first difference and the other five variables were stationary at level. The Johansen Co-integration test identified the long-run association among the variables indicating the long-run relationship between bond market return and economic growth. Granger Causality revealed a bi-directional relationship for India; unidirectional relationship for Indonesia (Bond→GDP growth) and Japan (GDP Growth→Bond); and no unidirectional or bidirectional relationship among the bond market return and economic growth of Hong Kong. The various new projects, the overextension of the banking sector, and perhaps the overall good condition of the economy has created the perfect situation to develop a bond market in Bangladesh. As there are conditions that provide advantages in bond market creation, there are also various challenges that the government must overcome. Some of the most important challenges to clear up are the underdeveloped tax system, the illiquid or absent secondary market, the alternative source of debt, and the overall lack of investors. Considering the various developed bond markets these policy implications could seriously aid the development process