Nigeria's Revealing Ecommerce Plot
Source: Techcabal newsletter
Writing on Black Friday, the plot above was used in a Techcabal newsletter and the comment that followed is thus:
Using search data from Google as a proxy for interest in e-commerce [...], it becomes clear that the industry has all but stagnated in the past few years, bar sharp spikes at the end of every year, for "Black Friday".
By aggressively marketing these "deals", our dear e-commerce platforms are encouraging their [already price-sensitive] users to think about them in all the wrong ways. For the most part, customers do not view them as utilities to rely on every day [good], but as seasonal arbitrage opportunities [bad], and there are unconfirmed reports that it is resellers who are taking advantage of some of these deals [very bad].
Simply, if that Google search data is right, it means that ecommerce in Nigeria is a seasonal business. The correlation is mind-blowing for the three players [Jumia, Konga and Yudala].
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 16 (Feb 10 – May 3, 2025) opens registrations; register today for early bird discounts.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.