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As Nigerians align their lifestyle and preferences to suit the emerging globalized model of the modern consumer, their use of online shopping platforms has become more diversified and frequent. This is reflected by the increasing number of orders placed for goods and services on the popular online markets such as Jumia, Konga, OLX and Jiji. And the experts say that the sector’s growth won’t slow down anytime soon.

A recent report by BMI Research (a subsidiary of Fitch Group) indicates that online grocery retail shopping in Nigeria has the potential to attract more users, as the country’s population size increases. The report says that this growth in online retail will be driven by increased internet connectivity, rising real incomes, and greater demand for convenience.

“Our view is underpinned by a positive e-commerce outlook for Nigeria, as we forecast industry value to grow at a five-year Compound Annual Growth Rate of 16.1% up to 2020”, the report said.

BMI describes Nigeria as “one of the most promising e-commerce markets in sub-Saharan Africa” and notes that it, along with South Africa and Tanzania, account for about 87% of the region’s e-commerce sales in 2015. Although online shopping seems to have suffered a bit from the country’s present economic challenges, the forecast says that the sector will go past the current stutter and continue along its positive growth path.

Online market companies in Nigeria have benefited immensely from increased patronage. According to Internet Live Stats, an internet statistics tracking company, over 75 million Nigerians have access to the internet; recent studies have also shown that an increasing fraction of them are warming up to buying and selling online. Competition in the sector is beginning to heat up, but there is still a lot for its new players to gain if the forecast by BMI is anything to go by.

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This article was first published on 1st August 2016 and updated on January 9th, 2017 at 3:04 pm

ikenna-nwachukwu

Ikenna Nwachukwu holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He loves to look at the world through multiple lenses- economic, political, religious and philosophical- and to write about what he observes in a witty, yet reflective style.