Rise of online businesses

FE Team | Published: May 09, 2026 19:58:03

Over the past few years, online businesses have emerged and proven themselves as a powerful force influencing the world and the local economy. With fast-progressing technology and easy access to the internet, traditional business patterns are transforming into e-business ventures. Now, online businesses, also known as e-commerce or digital business, have become an important force in developing the world economy, creating employment opportunities, changing consumer behavior patterns, etc.
One of the key contributions of online businesses is creating new opportunities for entrepreneurial activities. Compared with traditional ways of doing business, online ventures are relatively less expensive. People can easily sell online from home and achieve success without any significant initial investment, for example, using platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Daraz, etc. This way, a lot of young entrepreneurs and small business owners managed to establish their own online ventures with minimal investment.
Online businesses have created a lot of job opportunities, too. E-commerce boosted demand for online service providers, namely, delivery workers, digital marketers, content writers, customer service representatives, etc. And people are earning their livelihood on the basis of freelancing, affiliate marketing, and online selling. During the Covid-19 pandemic, when shops were closed due to restricted movement and all other activities, online ventures ensured the delivery and availability of goods, essentials on a daily basis for consumers, and sustained the economic flow.
Customer convenience is one of the biggest contributions of online businesses, with which customers get all the opportunity to make purchases anytime, anywhere, compare prices easily from a wide variety of products, and increase customer satisfaction and buying capacity. Ease in payment system, availability of home delivery service, ease this shopping process much more than before.
With its advantages, online businesses pose a few challenges also. Due to a lack of proper government supervision, online fraud and cheats are one of the critical issues nowadays. Customers get their ordered goods of poor quality and don't match the product description, which erodes the confidence of customers in the online platform. And conventional small-scale shops have become very difficult to compete with large online ventures, leading to an imbalance in the market.
Hence, a conclusion can be reached that online business has revolutionized the economy, creating opportunities, jobs, and convenience for customers. But some challenges still remain. Government intervention to set effective policies will boost the growth of online businesses further.
Muntaha Mahbub Riha
North South University