Going back 3 years ago, we barely had a site for online shopping in Nigeria. For the few that could and knew, made use of the likes of eBay, Amazon, Best Buy, Newegg and so on. A long list, I must say.
Fast forward 2014, there are so many of them. Everyone is becoming a CEO and investors are swarming the Nigeria tech ecosystem.
I’m very sure you enjoy the new trend of sitting in the comfort of your home, checking Facebook timeline and getting to see that fantastic ad on a shoe you have always checked on Zara’s website at a slashed price in Nigeria. You navigate to the page, checkout with your card; like magic, it is delivered to your address. Sound very cool, correct?
With the likes of Konga, Kaymu, Jumia, Tafoo, Gloo, Kiramu, Kara, OLX and so on, Nigerians can now sit back at home and use their PC or phones to order any item to be delivered to their doorstep. Items ranging from smartphones, grocery items, electronics, clothes can be purchased online and get delivered anywhere in Nigeria. In fact, some of those Nigeria shopping sites allow some customers to pay on delivery.
Shopping at Nigeria online eCommerce shops is really great, most other times, it is not.
Sometime ago, my friend spent one weekend in my apartment and we saw a mad deal online. Life is better online, they say! It was for a Sebago Moccasin.
We ordered – few days later, we got a call from the delivery company; delivery will be made that day. So we laid wait for the shoe. On arrival, what we saw online was totally different from what we saw. My friend asked politely: ‘did you make a mistake with my order?’. The Delivery Man responded – ‘Oga, na the shoe be this’. We went online to cross check what we saw; it was totally different. We rejected the product of course and we got our money back the next day.
There was also a time I ordered for an HP 3-in-One Printer online, only to be told after four days of paying for it, that it’s no more in stock. I have to make series of calls and mails before I could get my money back. I waited for a week though..
My best online shopping experience in Nigeria so far is when I got a genuine deal for a cheap Samsung phone (Samsung Galaxy S4 precisely) at N8,000 less its price on other Nigeria online phone shops at that very moment. I sold the phone to my banker friend that same week, making N5,000 profit. Smart biz..right? 🙂
Apart from the deal, I’ve ordered for lots of other items which were delivered to me right here in Benue, Nigeria.
While some genuine online shopping sites are putting smiles on the face of Nigerians, you should be aware that there are some out there that are there to scam you.
Very soon, I will share with you all you need to know about online security when it comes to shopping online in Nigeria.
What is your most bizarre shopping experience?
I am an online shopping freak, so expectedly I've got loads of experiences. But let me share with you the most recent one.
I ordered for some stuff since monday, and about 15 minutes ago a representative of Taafoo.com just called me to say one of the items I ordered for had issues, that I should pick another to replace it. She was kind enough to send pictures of items I might wanna consider as a replacement (did I mention she's got an angelic voice?) *sigh*
The 'bizzareness' in the whole issue is that the item that had issues was the reason I shopped in the first place.
Time for church. I've got to go. Stay glued to this page for more. 😀
My own experience most of this online shopping in nigeria are realy funny i order for 2 item and they deliver 1
You should try http://www.jaramall.com. Groceries delivered fresh, quickly and without hassles. I've not had any issues with them so far and a lot of others agree.
In my own experience a large portion of this web-based shopping in Nigeria is truly amusing I request for 2 things and they convey 1