Online Marketing Adoption as an Uneven Practice: Evidence from Micro and Small Clothing Enterprises in Bangladesh

This research investigates the adoption of online marketing by micro and small apparel businesses in Bangladesh due to their limited capabilities and resources. The study does not present digital adoption as a binary choice about using technology, but rather emphasizes the integration of diverse marketing approaches into routine business activities. The study adopts an explanatory sequential mixed-method approach, consisting of a survey of 510 digitally engaged apparel companies and 20 semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs, including four embedded business cases. The current review is limited to qualitative evidence, with survey statistics providing descriptive context alone. The online marketing strategies were analyzed across four dimensions: affiliate-oriented promotion, digital engagement, web optimization, and viral-content work. The results show considerable variation in how these practices are carried out. Digital engagement was seamlessly integrated into routine customer communication and visibility campaigns. Promotion focused on affiliates mainly through casual referrals and customer sharing, as opposed to formal affiliate frameworks. Entrepreneurs knew that web optimization was important, but still found it difficult due to technical, financial and time constraints. The creation of viral content was mostly improvised, relying on audience reactions rather than any strategic planning. The results also indicate that online marketing strategies are interrelated, and they can evolve at different levels of strategic complexity. The research provides a practice-oriented insight into digital adoption by highlighting that online presence is not a guarantee for cohesive or strategically aligned online marketing for resource-constrained small businesses.