Denis Opudo
Black Friday Straw Poll was carried out in December 2017. It showed that Jumia is still a preferred African online shopping platform. The poll was carried with 2,031 respondents in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. A total of 56% of the poll respondents have made shopping with Jumia before. Most of the online shoppers make use of Facebook. The number using Facebook for shopping is at 32%. Facebook ranked as the second leading online retailer in the e-commerce areas.
A large number of people possess phones in Africa. The Sub-Saharan region has the slowest internet connected countries in the world. The e-commerce is targeting the youthful population. This is despite the low internet connection and the high cost of data. The African continent has still a long way to go to achieve the e-commerce success. Many e-commerce platforms tend to withdraw their services after experiencing the unfavorable environment. There are those that have withstood the challenges and have reaped the benefits like Amazon.
Of the 2,031 respondents, 74% have once purchased items through online. Of the 74%, 22% of them have only purchased items only once in a month. With the slow growth, the online retail platforms have many challenges to overcome. From the 74% who respondents that have done an online shopping before 29% did not have trust in the site. Those that did not know how the site works were at 20%. The low trust is reflected in the mode of payments.
Many of the respondents prefer making cash payments once the items are delivered that’s 50%. The mobile money comes at the second position with 21%. Credit card payment is the least with 14%. In Nigeria and Kenya, 51% and 52% respectively prefer cash on delivery. A total of 49% of the respondents took part in Black Friday sale during December period. Those who took part in the Black Friday sales 55% learned about it from Facebook. Website and TV ads came second and third in that order on creating awareness at 15% and 13%.
The highest numbers to be searched items for during the period were electronics and accessories, household appliances, clothing, and footwear. They ranked at 34%, 21%, and 19% respectively. Electronics and accessories ranked highest in Kenya at 46%. That was same to Nigeria at 29%.
