E-commerce in Nigeria: 5 Trends to watch out for in 2021

The year 2020 has been a massive one for the e-commerce industry as customers shifted to online shopping due to retail closures.

With the second wave of the pandemic ravaging the world, the narrative signals are expected to continue in 2021, with certain trends at the forefront of online shopping activities.

If you are hoping to boost sales and conversation rate, it is pertinent you stay informed on the latest e-commerce trends.

In this article, we will highlight 5 top trends shaping e-commerce in Nigeria.

Social commerce

This is one of the major trends slated for growth. With the rise of e-commerce in 2021, several big tech companies have adopted social media strategies into the e-commerce market.

These moves have tremendously changed people’s online shopping habits, thereby supporting social shopping.

Some of the social media channels for online shopping to watch out for are Ticktock, YouTube, Instagram.

Contactless Delivery

To minimize human-to-human contact in the e-commerce industry, companies such as Jumia and Gokada are offering contactless delivery to serve their clients.

This approach is already here and has come to stay. Forward-thinking businesses are considering the integration of contactless delivery option in their strategy and keep it open for customers.

New Flexible Options

With the rise of online shopping than ever before in a post-pandemic world, e-commerce retailers are currently providing customers with greater choice when shopping online.

These can be seen in the way people pay for and receive their purchases.

Forward-thinking retailers now offer series of secure payment options to enable them to unlock the full potential customers base ahead of the full year; ranging from traditional cards to emerging payment methods such as e-wallets, cryptocurrencies and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL)

Mobile Shopping continuous rise

According to an insight, 2021 will see an increase in mobile commerce by 15 percent with mobile accounting for 73 percent of e-commerce sales.

This shows that thousands of people are utilizing their mobile devices for online purchases, hence translating to more downloads and usage of mobile apps like Jumia and Jiji.

AI becoming less artificial and more beneficial

The importance of Artificial Intelligence was a bit early to be realized in e-commerce, but this will drastically change in 2021.

In the words of Dylan Max of Netom, “Retailers are turning to artificial intelligence to improve everything from operations and inventory management to create good customer service and loyal customers.”

As concepts such as machine learning, voice search and chatbots become more mainstream, brands can leverage AI to yield real business impact.

Final Thoughts

E-commerce brands in Nigeria looking to dominate the online marketplace must be ready to embrace the latest trends as soon as possible.

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