Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / NewStats: 3,194,583 members, 7,955,140 topics. Date: Saturday, 21 September 2024 at 05:53 PM |
Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Business / E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. (25274 Views)
7 Reasons Why You Must Start An Online Business In 2017 / Dairo Damilola Opeyemi Redefining Auto-parts Business In Nigeria / Drop Shipping In Nigeria- Experience, Advice And How To (2) (3) (4)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (Reply) (Go Down)
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by talk2hb1(m): 5:48pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
This is the beginning of eCommerce in Nigeria and the Government ain't Doing anything about until the world give the local guy an international award then the senate will consider enacting law to back it up. 1 Like |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by phonesNgadgets: 6:23pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
... Wow! Thank you for taking your time to read my previous post. I never expected it will hit the front page. I just had a shot, and voila! It works. Thanks to the super moderator who created a chance for wider coverage. I also want to thank those who have shared very meaningful experience, I have learnt a couple of lessons from the experience of posters here. I am really glad. I will take my time to reply to most of this posts as time permits me. Now, let's continue from where we stopped, at least I have recorded some inquiries and a single order today but e no matter; sometimes, profit from a single order surpasses 10 orders. Yeah, for real. It has happened to me in several occasions,particularly sales recorded from those high end products. Though you have to settle some scores to make it happen. ...MORE CHALLENGES I FACE LOGISTICS: If I tell you say e easy, na set up! If you remember, I mentioned that the first successful order I recorded was delivered to Ibadan,Oyo State. See, I had to risk my life and travel down to Ibadan to deliver this good. This happened because: (i) I lacked some essential knowledge of carrying out delivery operation in a risk free way. (ii) The potential buyer was a very good negotiator Ooo and if I risk sparing even little amount of money to pay commercial taxi driver to do the job, my profit margin will slim down or it may even end up a loss-win situation, with the loss arrow on my board; and I really wanted to sell to this guy. By and large, I risked everything including my precious time and life to deliver the good, and it turned out to be a win-win game. Just of recent, I sold a watch to Aba,Abia state and the good was scheduled to be delivered within 48hrs. Base on the information I got from the courier company EMS, I fed the buyer back that good will be delivered within the scheduled time (48hrs). The buyer was in China, wanted to buy the watch for her Madam in Aba( who know if it was a birthday gift? ) and EMS wanted to spoil show I have used EMS' service a couple of times because there shipping charges are cheap compared to other reputable courier firms, and in those occasions, they didn't disappoint me; but at times, cheap services may burn your fingers. EMS nearly mess the show for me because the good was delivered 2 days behind schedule. Till today, EMS never give me a specific reason to what causes such delay. If not for good customer service that I gave to the buyer and madam, the experience could have turned out sour. I had to give the buyer every account of what happened from date and time I dispatched the package to EMS and I also sent copy of the EMS receipt to him via whatsapp. He also gave me the phone number of her Madam so as to update her of the the delivery status. As a sharp guy, I took my time to update madam of the delivery details and apologized for the delay. Meanwhile, a copy of thank you note ( handwritten with a calligraphy pen ) by the CEO himself was included in the package to build an informal relationship beyond seller-buyer relationship. This will make customers to feel free and give any question or suggestions they feel may benefit both parties. ( I get a copy of the letter in case you wan see as the package be ) The buyer and her madam were pleased to have done business with me, but I learnt my lesson. Even if the services of DHL,UPS and FedEx are higher than EMS, as long as I will have more value for what I am paying for, I will go for the best. As time goes by, my street smartness and reading habit has shaped me to become a better negotiator and go-getter. I have been able to understand how to carry out delivery with little risk and low budget. Though transportation and logistics is still a major challenge affecting both small and big businesses in this part of the world, yet we can still find our way around it and make the best out of it. Sorry, I have to take a leave again! Phone is ringing, SMS,BBM and whatspp notifications, smart watch vibrating (e-mails arrived ) all at the same time I've got to attend to them, probably more orders or credit alert. See you guys soon. 4 Likes |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by phonesNgadgets: 6:46pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
sunsewa:It depends on what you deal with and who your customers are. If larger percentage of your customers are literate and have basic knowledge of the internet, then you are good to go. It means your business door will be opened to the world, even beyond your business coverage area. Keep calm and e-retail |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by phonesNgadgets: 6:50pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
shikaan:Good. Please do and give us your report on it. By the way, do you have an e-store or you intending starting one, or you just want to help entrepreneurs with your findings |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by nov19(m): 6:51pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
Doing a nice job bro.... Am learning a lot from you as I plan to start selling online... Too Keep it up.... But if I may ask, how do u package wristwatches for delivery that did not come with a branded Box - cos I waz told by a wholesaler that I may hav to buy wristwatch boxes to pacKage my wristwatches... What do u advice ... Pls... |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by hipinnacle: 6:58pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
to start an E-commerce startup in Nigeria no be beans o. Irrespective of the sector you are operating, you got to work yourself out to be recognized. It is not a business idea at all for those who doesn't like thinking or those who only engage in mere thinking. It is a business for the future in Nigeria and Africa as a whole and the best time to start is now! E-commerce requires plentiful creative thinking and strategic networking, planning and building a worthwhile synergy with people that understand and believe in your idea. you must a go-getter to make it in this line of business When I started www.agromerchant.com- an online marketplace for agricultural produce, commodities and groceries, it was like a tall dream or call it a mirage but I thirst for innovative business idea, I stick with the plan work. Today order as started rolling in gradually in retails and wholesale. I will also join the host to buildup on this strategic startup most especially in the area of fund-raising, creative teamwork and synergy, and marketing stuff. Anybody that stick with this thread will learn a great deal. @ www.agromerchant.com stable. |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by phonesNgadgets: 7:08pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
hahn:Bro, thanks so much for sharing your experience. This is a first hand information. I must tell you I have made good sales from facebook by using facebook ads and while promoting the page, I included my contact details which made it easier for customers to ask more questions and place orders directly. Though facebook ads does not automatically leads to sales, but you still benefit from it, because the popularity of your page increases as you promote a post or page. About your website, maybe you need to dedicate a page on your website to orientate users on how-to of your page, you may even create a video post. This is one of the challenges I will write about my in following posts. Meanwhile, let's stay connected and tackle issues like this together. The wealthiest man in China has experienced all these and his e-commerce site is recording order way beyond e-bay and Amazon at the same time. He is Jack Ma. Founder of Alibaba. Sure, we gotta get there. 2 Likes |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by Vicben(m): 7:14pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
Thank you OP and follow Internet billionaires. I've always had this idea of starting an online shop but have never really summoned enough courage to venture into it. This is an eye opener, reading about people's success stories. |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by phonesNgadgets: 7:15pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
SPG4U: You can say that again Sis (at the bolded font) I am using community service, value and trust to build my brand and expand my customer base. This will make things easier for me when I eventually launch my e-commerce site. |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by Nobody: 7:16pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
@ OP, please do I have to get all my goods down physically before embarking on e-commerce as a beginner? |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by continentalceo(m): 7:22pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
Very wonderful topic! Thanks for the enlightenment |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by hipinnacle: 7:28pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
anuforo: This is one of the dangerous myth they told in business class those days but with the advent of www.com, the whole story has changed. It is wise to start your business with any thing or resources you have. Today, you can even start business from zero level, am a perfect example of this. You don't need to have physical goods down before starting your own online company, what you only need is, 1. Trust just like Op emphasize 2. Well-structured marketing platform 3. Good and reliable source you can pick your products from when you have an order 4. People that can give you the products on credits for to make your supply- You don't need to fidget, It is easy if you can build your networking, negotiation and inter-relationship skills all together. |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by phonesNgadgets: 7:32pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
nov19:The only watch I have bought that didn't come with proper retail box was neatly packed in a sealed nylon. They are low cost watches and I intentionally bought them for low end customers who were bent on buying from me. They were aware of the fact that the goods are cheap but they have quality standard. I also showed them the picture as it was packaged from my supplier. In a nutshell, tell your customers as it is. Let them know that the watches doesn't come with retail box, but it will arrive to them safely on your own package. How do you arrange your own package? You can use boxes old used old phones just to protect it from damage or better still wrap its face with tissue paper in multiple folds, put it in envelope and take it out to your delivery company, they will add more package to it to protect it and label it 'Fragile,handle with care'. It won't surprise your buyer if they see different box or only nylon and envelope,since you have pre-informed them of the packaging mode. All the best bro. |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by phonesNgadgets: 7:35pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
anuforo:Rome wasn't built in a day Bro. You start small and grow big. I started with seven Canada used blackberry phones. 2 Likes |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by phonesNgadgets: 7:39pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
Vicben:I tell you, I'm just the normal everyday guy you see. it's just that I have some traits that differentiate me from an average entrepreneur. 1 Share
|
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by dckng16(m): 8:09pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
What of jumia and Konga are they really making money e commerce business. |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by Brownhacks(m): 8:15pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
wow bro you nailed it well from my own perspective is this, whether oga A dont trust you oga b will trust you someday with time. and that 1 successful buyer will change your life who knws the millions of orders that will come after that just keep on doing your ads on e-store, facebook page or ecommerce site things will change just be patient keep on trying even it means a million times make sacrifice by loosing few cash with ads though amount you can afford to loose sha.that is the spirit an entrepreneur should have,loose few thousands now and become a millionaire later like jumia guys and shagaya of konga. do knw konga had orders a day that the site went offline because it could not handle it.do knw ads made konga and jumia popular and till today the run ads everywhere you see them so thats the spirit use money to make more money.let your money work for you. scammers are all over so you won't blame them for distrust most especially when u sepend serious amount on Facebook ads or built an ecommerce site.just someone said earlier the orders started coming gradually just be legitimate and do serious adverts and when you have buyers prove beyond resonable doubt that you are for real and show prof just as the op earlier. |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by hahn(m): 8:25pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
phonesNgadgets: |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by iMerchant: 10:21pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
phonesNgadgets: Congratulation on your successful sales. Make I book space, take chair and table. Make I go get my Biro and book to jot down lesson. 1 Like |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by LordTrezy(m): 10:26pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
phonesNgadgets:Op I sent a pm to you, please check your mail. I'll contact you on whatsapp through the number on your profile. Thanks |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by phonesNgadgets: 10:47pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
iMerchant: Chairman, I admire your style. You shall know a great entrepreneur when you see one. I read your brilliant post sometimes ago, yet you are here to learn from other people. That's one of the qualities of good business leader. Keep it up. BTW no just take paper and pen oo. Abeg add your own contribution o! On a serious note, I really learning from the thread. 1 Like |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by phonesNgadgets: 10:50pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
LordTrezy:Sir, I'll check your mail. I will reply it as soon as I read it,even if I cannot reply tonight, just be assured a response is coming. Meanwhile, feel free to contact me on whatsapp if it's urgent. Bless! |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by Speakdatruth: 11:12pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
theplushist: elujah1:d little I can say is dat most of d e-commerce sites making noise on TV n billboards are in debt, for some d investor's fund has not been recovered even until now and to some on loan, d concentration is not on paying but maintaining wots left of d original business model. it's not really easy maintaining d structure when u're big, but yet it depends on ur masterplan n ability to shift grounds |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by Speakdatruth: 11:27pm On Aug 17, 2015 |
anuforo:to help a little more, jumia never had d products dey posted on their website, they never had a store also until d one they're building now. 1) every manufacturer wants quick sale, so dey visit dem, check on d products, strike a quantity deal, dey put dem on web as though dey have it (indirectly dey do) bombard d air wit advert, people order and it's a win win 2) run affiliates if u gat huge prospects (put some people on d run for ur online store) hope dat add up |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by princeuk21(m): 12:05am On Aug 18, 2015 |
Taking my seat |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by HeelsEmpire(f): 12:26am On Aug 18, 2015 |
Hi SpeakdaTruth, No doubt, you seem to know quite a bit about the Nigerian e-commerce space. But, I felt the need to chime in on your claims below about these companies being in debt. Not sure what kind of deal the big "K" (you should know who.. Lol) has with it's investors, but the last time I checked, they got $25 million in funding. That's a whole lot of money to spend out here in Nigeria. I really don't want to go into details, but except their burn rates and churn rates are somewhere around 20% quarterly, I think they're doing just fine. Like you already know, the big "K" and "J" aren't stocking up on most of their inventory, that's why you see an approximate 7days delivery time on most products on their website. But, Hey! I just might be wrong. The biggest cash flow hog for any ecommerce store is usually holding stock. If they're aren't holding 60% of their inventory, I believe they'll be just fine. Or I think they're doing great! Else they need to start looking for a competent CFO. Now, moving on to the big "J". They got pretty deep pockets. Go read up on them! Last time I read, the parent company giving the big "J" the financial clout to dominate the Nigerian/African markets has in excess of $500 million in funding. With Nigeria being a frontliner in Africa's growing economic power play and Africa being the new emerging frontier, how much do you think a smart company will put out here? Right! They'll throw in quite a lot! I'm sorry for the lenghty tirade, just thought I'd debunk your claim about these companies being in debt... Yet! Now for every other company I know that has taken investors monies, yep, they definitely would be feeling the pressure to survive/succeed in order to make the investors happy. I'll get back to the subject matter below Speakdatruth: 1 Like |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by kefmawin: 12:27am On Aug 18, 2015 |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by HeelsEmpire(f): 1:20am On Aug 18, 2015 |
Now, for any budding e-commerce founder/owner, you all have probably read it all from the OP and other great contributors. This is no cake-walk! NO! you won't get as BIG as the big J and K in one year. The earlier you wake up to that reality, the further we can get on with this contribution. Please do not open an online store just because everyone is doing it, or you think it's a cool idea or perhaps you think you'll be making lots of money. Starting out an ecommerce requires lots of discipline, a douse of hard work and smart work. Lots of failures along the way too, but eventually after graduating from Persistence class and going through all that trouble to get your brand known, the rest becomes easy from there on out. There are actually rules to owning/running an ecommerce site, in my humble opinion, these are some of the things we've learned over here at Heels Empire ; 1. Be honest with your customers from the jump. You would be offline before you even get started if you start off being dishonest to even a single customer. Bad news does travel really fast! In Nigeria, people refer other people whenever their needs have been properly met by a particular company or brand. Cultivate this goodwill. Just like the OP mentioned, if that shoe you're about selling is made in China, but has a 60‰ quality rating, please let the customer know upfront. This saves you lots of headache. 2. Go crazy on your customer care/support. So you got a buyer to trust you enough to buy off you, but most businesses never check back with the customer to be sure they're enjoying their purchase. And those that do only do so only after a sale has been made. However, you should learn to check with the customer 2 months down the road. This also helps you as an e-commerce owner reaffirm the fact that your supplier(s) sells quality products, hence giving you a morale boost when trying to convince a customer to buy off you. 3. Relax on the paid advertisement. I know some seasoned vets here would choose to differ on this one, but we've learnt the hard way! Don't get me wrong though, I'm not telling you not to spend money advertising, all I'm saying is.. Don't start out throwing money you can't afford to loose on advertising. Paid advertising is a science that requires lots of metrics. Until you know where your potential customers hangout, please apply caution when paying to get traffic. Websites like Nairaland and Facebook Ads offer the best cheapest ways to validate your paid ad campaigns and peoples perception about your product or brand. This point requires a long post all by itself! 4. Come correct with that website . Lol! Someone is probably wondering "what the heck is she talking about?!?". Here is what I mean.. Nigerians are getting into the e-commerce and online shopping frenzy. So budding e-commerce owners just want to jump online and make bank, hence they do so with a terribly built website. The truth is, the way your website looks does say a lot about those at the helm of affairs to customers. A shabby looking website isn't a good way to win customers trust. If you can't afford a good web developer to give you that great-looking online presence, I'd advise you start out with platforms like Kaymu, Konga and Jumia. Heck, Gtbank also offers similar platforms for people to own their own stores without the web designers wahala. So make good use of those platforms! I can go on and on about the things I've learned over here, but then again boring you all with these epistles surely isn't my intent. Lol! Nice thread by the way, OP! I have to run before my "Oga at the top" fires me for not getting stuff done. 2 Likes |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by franconian: 4:57am On Aug 18, 2015 |
HeelsEmpire: The Gtb platform, how does it work? Please throw more light on this! |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by iMerchant: 5:02am On Aug 18, 2015 |
phonesNgadgets: Boss, am loyal. You are doing a good job. You will not know the impact of sharing your experience until total stranger start calling you to thank you for showing them the way. It is a wonderful experience. Before I end my ecommerce thread on Nairaland, at least I can count 3 people that move from product idea to marketplace. There are several people who will learn directly or indirectly from your experience. The joy is, you are showing people that ecommerce works. Anyway, I am glad that the following entrepreneur move their idea to marketplace because I shared my experience: Konga .com/234mart Konga .com/ord-fashion-store Konga .com/quic-top-store Abeg go patronise them. When you use your candle to light other candles, we make the marketplace online a better place. The internet have close the gap on ignorance. Ignorance is no longer an excuse. Anybody can succeed in his/her choosing field of undertaking. Nigeria is a huge market so few merchants or ecommerce startups can't do it all. Other people also need to participate in meeting peoples need. We have a population of over 170 million people, I only want to sell to 10 million people, which still leaves over 160 million people unattended to. Who is going to sell or meet the need of the other 160 million people. That's food for thought for people who are yet to start. Anyway, to all the Bosses in the house, I hail thee and remain loyal. Back to student mode. Make I go collect extra sheet plus Biro to jot down lessons. 1 Like |
Re: E-commerce And Retail Business In Nigeria. Experience,challenges & Prospect. by iMerchant: 5:07am On Aug 18, 2015 |
franconian: It's called SMEMarketHub. You have to have a business account or current account with GTBank before you can use the platform. They give you a storefront with a payment gateway. Regards |
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (Reply)
Building Painting: Cost Of Painting House In Nigeria / JP Morgan Projects N850/$ By December / 4 Ways To Identify "SCAMMERS" On Most Online Market Platform Like OLX Nigeria
(Go Up)
Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 135 |