Dhaka is a great place to buy leather goods and ready-made garments if you are prepared to go through the hassles of haggling. The cheapest place to buy these goods is in the markets but similar items can be found in shops dotted around the city.
Probably the cheapest place is Banga (or Bango) Bazar which is a block west of the Gulistan bus station on Kamruzzaman Sharani Street at the edge of Old Dhaka. For shopaholics this is probably a paradise but for others it can be a nightmare. There are thousands of small stalls intersected by narrow walkways which are often jammed with people. Each stall usually has several workers and the moment you stop to look (or even slow down) you will be bombarded from all sides. Some of the clothes will be seconds but many are overruns from export orders. The quality varies widely but the prices can be cheap, cheap, cheap, after you bargain vigorously. Try US$1 for a T-shirt, US$3 for blue jeans and US$5 for jackets.
One step up from here is the New Market. This is the largest market in the city and it has more class, more room and just as much choice. Prices may be a little higher because I suspect the stall rent is more but it is where I feel more comfortable. As well as clothing, there is leather, linen, jewelry, household goods, CDs and DVDs and so on. You can wander around for hours getting lost in the process, if this is your desire. The New Market is on Mirpur Road in Dhanmondi, just west of Dhaka University. It is normally closed on Tuesdays.
The newest place to shop is at Bashundhara City, a modern multi-storey building packed with shops on Pantha Path just west of the Pan Pacific Hotel. This is the closest thing Dhaka has to the shopping malls found in most Asian cities. There are small shops on about 10 floors and no-one could possibly see them all in one visit. I have found this a good place to buy CDs and DVDs but there are more clothing and material shops than anything else.
Many visitors will be interested to browse the street markets that appear on different days in various places. They are probably more interesting to look at than as places to buy. There is also some interest in some of the markets that specialize in particular goods. Eastern Plaza is a good place to buy a mobile phone, electrical goods, CDs, cameras, etc.