The Growing trend of Online Shopping in Nigeria

Nigerians can now be grouped into two sets of people; those who shop online and those who don’t.

Few years back, safe and secure online shopping seemed like a farfetched reality in the Nigerian Internet space. Today, online shopping is quickly becoming a part of the buying culture in Nigeria. You might have noticed the online buying trend from both middle and low income earners for items ranging from books, shoes, wears, kiddies, electronic gadgets, laptops to mobile devices.

Why shop online when you can walk down the store?

Online shopping in Nigeria will not quickly replace the good old traditional shopping; however it is an emerging trend we cannot ignore.

Following are likely reasons people want to shop online;

The advantage to relax and carefully consider what you really want from the variety of brands and products
No salesperson trying to sell a product down your throat.
Discount offers you would not ordinarily get or know about from your local store
You do it all from your home or office
A smooth transaction and delivery makes your day
Save time for other important activities
Feel good about being an active part of the trend and not just an observer

There could be other personal reasons, but there is also the downside of shopping online; when product delivery takes longer than anticipated. If you are on a deadline, this could bring a negative feeling about the whole buying process. Let me share my experience buying a book from one of the leading online retailers in Nigeria.

Online shopping experience at Jumia

I learnt about Jumia.com.ng, the largest online retailer in Nigeria. They have an impressive and beautifully designed website, with an overwhelming range of products on the offering; Books, fashion, mobile phones, computing, video & audio, electronics, games & consoles, Home Appliances, Beauty products, fragrances, watches, toys and what more.

Out of curiosity to try out the service, I decided to order the book, “There was a Country” by Chinua Achebe (the most-talked-about book on the Nigerian Civil war) from Jumia bookstore. I made the order on Tuesday 4^th December 2012 with the Webpay payment option, to be delivered to my address in Lagos.

After paying with my GTBank Debit-Card, I got an error message from the payment processor requesting that I re-enter my card details. I was about re-entering the details when I received an SMS alert from my bank that my account has been charged the said amount. Had I entered the card details the second time, I would have probably been charged twice. The company would have refunded the money but that would be more time spent with some extra stress.

It was until Thursday, I received a message in my inbox that I’m yet to complete my order from the store. I’ve been earnestly counting down to receive my new book, so was a bit disappointed. If you are like me, there is this excitement that comes with getting a new book to consume, especially a controversial one. I tried to contact the customer support via phone and my calls either diverts to voicemail or gets me to listen to this background music while I wait to speak to an agent, for several minutes.

I finally contacted them through email and on the company’s Facebook page on Friday, and was promptly responded to from both sides. The issue was quickly solved over the weekend and my book was delivered on Wednesday. Fair enough.

On the website, book delivery is stated to take 10 to 14 days. You get fast-shipping (1 to 5 days for orders above N30,000). However, from the day I made the order, to day of delivery, it took exactly one week despite the payment processing issue that was resolved after 3 to 4 days. With that I’ll say the book was delivered a lot faster, which is an impressive service ‘for my money’.

Though my experience seemed not smooth at first, it was simply as a result of the debit-card processor which failed to automatically index my order as complete. Tools can screw up some times. Facebook is not perfect after all.

And they have a great support team behind the scene, which is as important if not more important than having great products

Avoiding delayed online shopping experience

One of the reasons for delayed delivery would be unverified payment. I can’t say much about other online retailers, but on Jumia, you have several options of paying for products you buy.

Pay on delivery: You pay when your product is safely delivered to you

Pay through bank: You either walk to one of the banks the company have accounts with or log on to your internet bank account and pay for the product

Pay online: You pay with your card electronically. Don’t be discouraged from using this option. On several occasions, I’ve paid for digital products with WebPay and InterSwitch services and had smooth transactions. You just know that once you have entered your card details correctly the first time, if you get an error message, make sure to verify that you account have not been debited before re-entering your card details. The debiting process happens almost instantly. So you can always be sure. Next thing to do if your charge is not approved immediately is to contact the customer service.

Shopping Online from Jumia Online retailer

If you haven’t used or haven’t heard about this company, this is where I’m supposed to introduce Jumia, the online retailer for Nigerians to shop safely and securely. To reiterate, Jumia is Nigerian online retail shopping service provider, much like Amazon, offering a wide range of products. You buy products online, it get’s delivered to your choice location anywhere in Nigeria. The site is ranked among the top 20 websites in Nigeria, which shows how popular the company have become among Nigerians.

Start your seasons shopping on Jumia.com.ng!

Need to Buy Books? Try Jumia Bookstore

Jumia bookstore offers a wide range of books from self-help, career development, political, educational to fiction books. Simply search through tonnes of books, select and have it delivered safely to your choice location.

Current best sellers at Jumia Bookstore that may interest you:

There was a Country by Chinua Achebe: Currently one of the best sellers with 21% discount off the price

Act like a lady – Think like a Man: This is another best seller on the bookstore. Statistics from Jumia bookstore shows that most purchases are ordered by women. 36% discount available

The laws of Attraction: 35% discount

Other categories that are hot selling are emotional and romantic novels. They have a huge discount and ladies order them regularly.

Find Best Sellers, Business, Fiction & more – books at Jumia bookstore!

Get to serious Shopping

If you are planning a memorable shopping this season, Jumia online retail shop will probably give you that experience.

To get start, click here to visit the store. And follow these steps.