List of online Stores in Nigeria as at 2015

Posted by Felix Okoli on Tuesday June 16, 2015 at 12:57:48:

About 5 years ago, Nigerian shoppers were used to mostly buying things from open markets and stores close to them such as at specialized market areas or shopping plazas and malls. Then, they had to pay for transport or at least use their energy to visit stores and markets, negotiate for the prices of things they want to buy, buy the item, pay for labour to carry them to their vehicles before heading back home. I have to say that the old scenario for shopping was really a bit too stressful because first of all you have to go to the market with transport, spend your time moving from one store to another in order to find the items you want, compare prices, negotiate for a good price with the seller and still transport the purchased items back to your home or office. Shopping the old way in Nigeria takes a toll on the buyer who in most cases spends hours if not the whole day just to buy items they need at home. It takes a lot of time and effort to shop at local stores and markets in Nigeria and I believe many Nigerians were probably dreaming of a day when they would have sellers delivering the specific items to them at home at a reasonable price.

God willing, the situation has gradually been changing since then as there are now a growing number of Nigerians who buy things online and get it delivered to their homes thanks to the growing number of online shopping websites or stores in Nigeria. They are all helping to make life easier for Nigerians buyers.

Some of the shopping websites offer nationwide delivery while some only deliver to major cities like Lagos and Abuja. Some of them accept all payments in advance before delivery while others even allow you to pay on delivery. Some offer you an extended returns period which gives you the right to return an item you are unsatisfied with while some only offer a shorter return period.

Some of them have registered addresses like an office or a warehouse where you can make complaints or do a pickup yourself after ordering while others can only be reached through phone or email.

If you are going to buy things online in Nigeria from any of the available stores, you will need to first register with one of them using your email, place an order and then wait for the item to be delivered to you.

Some of them also allow buyers to even place an order using their mobile phones by simply making a voice call after seeing the item they want to buy, because they understand that not all Nigerians have an email address or know how to order online.

I’ve purchased a lot of things online such as a refrigerator, rechargeable fan, food, and electronic gadgets. It may take as little as 3 days and as long as 2 weeks before an order placed is delivered. At times, I normally prefer doing a pickup myself at one of their warehouses since it allows me to get items I want at a time of my convenience rather than waiting at home of office for them to deliver since delivery times are not certain.

Picking up an item after placing an order is possible with some online stores in Nigeria and it helps the buyer save an extra fee which would have otherwise been charged for delivery. It’s mostly recommended for people who stay in cities where the shopping website has a physical outlet pickup store. So, apart from the price of the listed item on these online stores, buyers would also have to pay for delivery fees if the website is not offering free delivery although some of them do it for free at times.
One tip for saving money when buying from online stores in Nigeria as a regular buyer is to try buying in bulk rather than small small. You could make a list of items you regularly buy or items you are going to need for perhaps a month or a year so that you can buy more and save money on delivery costs which they’d waive for free to you. If you are just buying single items once in a while, you can save money by comparing for their prices at several shopping websites before deciding on which website you want to buy from.

Some shopping websites have consolidated their presence in Nigeria and are likely to remain in the picture for the long term while some are still testing the waters. It is not yet clear who the top leaders are but companies like Jumia and Konga appear to be in the lead.

Some shopping websites sell general items while some are carving a niche for themselves in specific categories. We now have some that sell mostly electronics, mobile phones or just supermarket items and there are still those that sells practically everything sellable. The good things about the online shopping industry in Nigeria is that they help bring down prices for people and this is thanks to the growing competition as well as the fact that they normally list prices in advance, something different from what you’d get at local stores or markets in Nigerian cities.

List of shopping websites as at 2015

1. DealDey is a shopping website whose dot com domain name was first registered on the 8th of August 2010. They started business in the month of March 2011 as a shopping website with a difference since they offer deals on a daily basis for products and services at reasonably low prices.

2. Jumia Nigeria was registered as a dot com dot ng domain on 26th February 2012. They started business in May 2012. The company is owned by a bigger company called Africa Internet Group (AIG) which has also helped establish the Jumia brand in other African countries like Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, Ivory Cost, Uganda, Ghana, Cameroon and Tanzania. Jumia Nigeria is a general shopping website that sells electronics, fashion, cameras, baby items, books, games and health products.

3. Konga is another top online shopping whose dot com domain name was first registered on the 18th of April 2002. They started business as a shopping website in the month of July 2012. Konga sells a wide variety of items such as books, electronics, clothing, home accessories, office tools and so on.

4. Gloo is an online supermarket whose dot ng domain name was first registered on the 23rd of May 2013. They sell items you’d normally find in a regular supermarket such as packaged food, packaged drinks, groceries, health supplements, pharmaceutical products, foodstuffs, books, and home or office items. You only need to visit them to find out more. They want to be Nigeria’s biggest supermarket.

5. Supermart: This is an online supermarket whose dot ng domain name was first registered on. They call themselves the largest online supermarket in Nigeria and I have to say that they do have quite a large number of items on display. The type of items they sell includes items you’d find in supermarkets close to you such as Baby Products, Oil & Sauces, Food Cupboard, Cleaning, Perfumes, Books, Fresh Food, Frozen Food, Toiletries, Alcohol, Medicines, Household Items, Beauty & Toiletries, Nigerian Ingredients, Snacks, Dairy & Eggs, Fish, Meat, Drinks. They also offer faster delivery services in as little as 3 hours. They accept payment when you place your order through bank issued cards in Nigeria.

6. Kara was registered as a dot com dot ng domain on the 20th of August 2012. It is owned by Royal Coast Technologies Limited. They sell items such as Phones and Tablets, Electronics, Generators, Inverters, Home and Kitchen Appliances, Electrical and Power Supplies, Automobiles , Wrist Watches, Computer and Accessories.

7. Kaymu is another shopping website whose dot com dot ng domain name was first registered on the 15th of November 2012. Like Jumia, Kaymu’s main investor is the Africa Internet Group (AIG). It is basically a marketplace that allows buyers to list products and sellers to buy them. Kaymu sells a lot of things online such as fashion, jewelry, health, mobile phones, electronics, books, baby items, food and drinks.

8. Adibba is an online shopping store whose dot com domain name was first registered on July 17th 2013. The shopping website is owned by Adibba Online Shopping Limited and they sell items ranging from beauty products, books, computers, clothes, shoes, home appliances, furniture, video games and even power solutions. They accept online payments from Nigerian bank issued cards such as Verve, Visa, Mastercard while they also accept payment on delivery from buyers.

9. MyStore is a shopping website whose dot com dot ng domain name was first registered on 26th of February 2013. MyStore is basically a marketplace that allows buyers and sellers to do business while they provide some form of protection for both parties. A variety of items related to home items, kitchen items, health and beauty products, home appliances, office supplies and baby items are sold on the website.

10. Gidimall: A shopping website with a dot com domain name first registered on the 4th of May 2010. Gidimall is basically like a large online shopping mall that sells items related to fashion, electronics, computers, mobile phones, kitchen stuff, home items, books, food and drinks. They offer delivery to one’s home or office and also accept payment on delivery.

11. Laurensonline: This is a fashion based shopping website in Nigeria whose dot com domain name was first registered on the 5th of March 2009. It’s an ideal shopping destination for Nigerians looking for shoes, designer clothes or other fashion accessories. They deal mostly in shoes and if you are looking for good work or casual shoes, this is one nice place to check out.