Abuja, Nigeria. March 22nd, 2016 – Latest public opinion poll results released by NOIPolls have revealed a relatively high level of awareness on e-commerce in Nigeria, as about 5 in 10 Nigerians (53 percent) showed awareness of online shopping, and of this proportion, 25 percent further indicated that they shop online or know someone who does. These findings suggest that while online shopping only started gaining popularity in Nigeria in recent years due to the springing up of indigenous online shopping sites, its awareness and usage is relatively encouraging. This arguably could be linked to the rising usage of the internet by Nigerians, further buttressed by the social media survey conducted by NOIPolls in February 2016 which revealed that 63 percent of Nigerians are on one form of social media platform or the other, accessing the internet mostly through their mobile phones and other internet enabled devices.
More findings from the poll revealed Jumia as the top online shopping platform in Nigeria in terms of popularity (68 percent) and usage (58 percent); this is followed by ‘Konga’ with 59 percent popularity and 30 percent usage. Other sites with considerable popularity include ‘OLX’ (18 percent) and ‘Kaymu’ (7 percent) amongst other online retail shopping platforms. It is important to note that the indigenous online shopping sites such as Jumia, Konga etc. which have sprung up in the last few years seemed to have gained more popularity and usage than foreign online shopping sites such as Amazon, Aliexpress etc. This may be likely due to factors such as proximity, currency of dealing, delivery time and terms of payment of the both categories of sites in view. For instance while the indigenous sites offer services like payment on delivery (heightening the assurance of customers), foreign sites do not offer this service as payments need to be made before delivery. In addition, Nigerians consider ‘convenience’ (46 percent) ‘quality’ (16 percent), ‘variety of products’ (10 percent) ‘delivery time’ (6 percent) as the most important factors that influence their decision to shop online.
An assessment of the online shopping experiences of respondents revealed that most Nigerians (61 percent) who shop online are satisfied with their online retail shopping experience, although a considerable proportion of respondents in this category responded negatively. This is no surprise given the fact that the satisfaction level of consumers is bound to differ due to the several online shopping platforms available in the country and the varying expectations of individual consumers from these platforms. Finally, while poll results revealed positive figures in terms of awareness, usage and satisfaction rating of online shopping platforms in Nigeria, online retailers must constantly work to improve service areas such as delivery time, delivery charges, as well as their privacy policy so as to assure customers of the security and confidentiality of their personal data, hence encouraging more customers to shop online thus enhancing growth in the e-commerce industry.
These are the key findings from the Online Shopping Poll conducted by NOIPolls in the week of March 14th 2016.
Brief Background
Online shopping began in 1979 by English entrepreneur Michael Aldridge and has gone on to be a most successful venture as more and more people the world over still shop online, one of the reasons for the sustaining popularity of online shopping is the ease of convenience attached to it as has been validated by our reports. Online shopping in Nigeria began with Kaymu, previously a social messaging site expanded into an e-commerce site but was quickly over-taken by Jumia and Konga which were both founded in 2012.
Between 2000 and 2010, the number of Nigerian internet users reportedly grew from 200,000 to more than 40 million and this number has risen further in recent years. It is estimated that there are now about 70 online retailers in Nigeria, selling everything from household items, electrical appliances, office gadgets, cars, health and beauty products, sports accessories and even fairly used items.[1]
There are several reasons for the recent growth of online shops in Nigeria which includes; increasing rate of internet penetration in Nigeria, innovation of apps that enable mobile internet usage as well as the introduction of internet banking[2]. Although buying and selling still takes place at open air-markets in both urban and rural areas in Nigeria, people are increasingly patronizing online shops and platforms.
The Nigerian retail industry has grown significantly over the years, moving gradually from traditional to contemporary systems and the average Nigerian becoming more internet savvy has led to the growth spurt witnessed in the online retail industry in just its fourth year of operation.
In view of this, NOIPolls conducted a poll to ascertain the level of awareness as well as perceptions of Nigerians regarding online shopping.
Survey Findings
Currently, Nigeria is witnessing an increase in the number of online shopping sites popping up due to the growing internet awareness and usage amongst Nigerians. In line with this, the poll revealed that more than half (53 percent) of the respondents confirmed that they are aware of online shopping in Nigeria, whereas, 47 percent claimed they are not aware of online shopping. Analysis by age group revealed that those aged between 26-35 (63 percent) and 18-25 (55 percent) accounted for the largest proportion of Nigerians who are aware of online shopping activities. This is in line with the social media survey which revealed that respondents within these age groups access the internet more than any other age group in Nigeria. Results also showed that slightly more male (54 percent) than female (51 percent) respondents are aware of online shopping in Nigeria.
Subsequently, the proportion of Nigerians who shop online was gauged and the outcome shows that one-quarter (25 percent) of the respondents who are aware of online shopping indicated that they shop online or know someone who does. Contrarily, three-quarter (75 percent) of the respondents claimed that they do not shop online or know someone who shops online.
Before the advent of e-commerce, procuring goods via the Internet was a phenomenon that was uncommon in Nigeria. However, in recent times this position has changed and Nigerians are beginning to embrace digital innovation and are increasingly using the Internet to purchase goods and services on diverse online retail shopping platforms[3]. Based on these trends, ‘Jumia’ emerged as the online retail shopping platform most Nigerians (68 percent) are aware of. This is followed by ‘Konga’ (59 percent),‘OLX’ (18 percent) and ‘Kaymu’ (7 percent) amongst other online retail shopping platforms.
Further analysis revealed that Jumia and Konga received the highest awareness across gender, geo-political zones and age-groups.
Furthermore, the poll sought to ascertain the most frequently used online retail shopping platforms and the results showed that ‘Jumia’, with a substantial proportion of 58 percent, is the most frequently used
Online retail shopping platform in Nigeria. This supports the fact that Jumia, which lauched it’s activity in 2012[4], is believed to be the leading online shopping company in Nigeria.
Also, the poll result showed that ‘konga’ (30 percent) is second most frequently used online retail shopping platform in the country. Others includes ‘AliExpress’ (5 percent), ‘OLX’ (3 percent) and ‘Amazon’ amongst others. Analysis across geo-political zones revealed that the South-West zone (66 percent) recorded the highest percentage of respondent who shop on ‘Jumia’.
Reasons why Nigerians consider online shopping were also explored and result revealed that almost 5 in 10 respondents (46 percent) confirmed that ‘convenience’ is the most important factor that influences their decision to shop online. Also, all (100 percent) the respondents aged 61 years and above consented to this and this can be linked to their age and the ease that comes with shopping online. This is followed distantly by ‘price’ (18 Percent) indicating that respondents who shopping online perceive products to be relatively cheaper online than buying from regular markets and shops. Other reasons that were mentioned include ‘quality’ (16 percent), ‘variety of products’ (10 percent) ‘delivery time’ amongst other reasons.
Lastly, due to the several online shopping platforms available in the country and the varying expectations of individual consumers from these platforms, the satisfaction level of consumers is bound to differ. In 2014, Phillips consulting report revealed that 42 percent of Nigerians surveyed were satisfied with their overall online shopping experience[5] and this ties in with the poll results which revealed that most Nigerians (61 percent) who shop online are satisfied with their online retail shopping experience.
In conclusion, this survey has shown a considerable level awareness and usage of ecommerce and indigenous online shopping platforms in recent times, as 53 percent of the respondents indicated that they are aware of the online shopping activities and 25 percent of Nigerians in this category have either shopped or know someone who has shopped online. Most of the respondents who shop online revealed that they frequently use Jumia and Konga platform, siting convinience (46 percent) as the main reason for shopping online. In addition, 61 percent of Nigerians who shop online affirmed that they are generally satisfied with their online shopping experiences.
While poll results have shown a relatively high level of awareness of online shopping which arguably could be linked to the extensive use of the internet by Nigerians, there is need for policies to be put in place to enable Nigerians access the internet at a relatively lower costs to attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the telecommunications industry to grow the e-commerce industry and maximize its multiplier effect of job creating and economic growth.
Survey Methods
The opinion poll was conducted in the week of March 14th 2016. It involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 1,000 randomly selected phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geopolitical zones in the country, were interviewed. With a sample of this size, we can say with 95% confidence that the results obtained are statistically precise – within a range of plus or minus 3%. NOIPolls Limited is the No1 for country specific polling services in West Africa. We conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com
Disclaimer
This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published.
NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking.
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[1] http://www.brandpowerng.com/brand-trends-online-shoppingnigerias-rising-brand-experience-amaka-akachukwu/
[2] http://community.vanguardngr.com/profiles/blogs/9-reasons-for-increase-in-nigeria-online-shopping
[3] http://www.234finance.com/the-evolution-of-e-commerce-and-online-marketing-in-nigeria/
[4] http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/sunday/index.php/feature/14157-jumia-the-inspiring-story-of-nigeria-s-online-retailer
[5] http://www.phillipsconsulting.net/files/online_shopping_report.pdf
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