The Nation Newspaper

Tag: online

  • New apps for online shopping

    Konga.com, Nigeria’s online mall recently unveiled a shopping app for the internet online shopping platform, marking the latest step by the e-commerce giant to make online shopping convenient and accessible to everyone. Konga customers, who use iPhone, iPad and iPod, touch devices can now shop on the go with ease and discover the hottest deals on hundreds of thousands of unique items.

    The free app offers a variety of features that make the shopping experience on Konga.com pleasurable. Users can now securely access their Konga account and pay for items using their debit cards or Konga wallet, view push notifications on the latest deals and top-selling items, add selected items to cart, order products in three steps and keep track of all orders. The Konga iOS app is a convenient, secured and fast way to access the full range of products and services on Konga.com.

    With the Konga iOS app, shopping on your iPhone or iPad is beyond tempting. Konga has managed to create an intuitive UI and navigation, which makes popular categories and products quite easy to discover, with a clean presentation style for search results and item profiles. Plus it’s shop-on-the-go right from the comfort of an Apple device

  • New apps for online shopping

    New apps for online shopping

    Konga.com, Nigeria’s online mall recently unveiled a shop ping app for the internet online shopping platform, marking the latest step by the e-commerce giant to make online shopping convenient and accessible to everyone. Konga customers, who use iPhone, iPad and iPod, touch devices can now shop on the go with ease and discover the hottest deals on hundreds of thousands of unique items.

    The free app offers a variety of features that make the shopping experience on Konga.com pleasurable. Users can now securely access their Konga account and pay for items using their debit cards or Konga wallet, view push notifications on the latest deals and top-selling items, add selected items to cart, order products in three steps and keep track of all orders. The Konga iOS app is a convenient, secured and fast way to access the full range of products and services on Konga.com.

    With the Konga iOS app, shopping on your iPhone or iPad is beyond tempting. Konga has managed to create an intuitive UI and navigation, which makes popular categories and products quite easy to discover, with a clean presentation style for search results and item profiles. Plus it’s shop-on-the-go right from the comfort of an Apple device

  • Ladipo motor spare parts market goes online

    The Ladipo international motor spare parts market has opened an online portal where clients who are too busy to come to the market can purchase their genuine motor spare parts online and have it shipped to them.

    This development was disclosed by the Chairman, Aguiyi Ironsi International Trade Center, Mr. Ajibade Olajoku who said the activities of fraudulent middle men necessitated the new move. He revealed the website as : www.youseeam.com.

    According to Olajoku, there is a network of partners who will supply customers with brand new products which would eliminate the need for middle men. He said the association operates from warehouse B, in the Aguiyi Ironsi International Market where trained artisans are on hand to deliver quality service to their online customers.

    Olajoku: “ We have an internal mechanism to ascertain the products, the new ones have warrantee of one year, while the tokunbo gave guarantee of 30 days. It eliminates the rigour of coming down physically to an organized market.”

    He said the Association is determined to eliminate the middle men who specialize in frustrating the customers. “With www.youseeam.com, we are online for 24 hours. We have engine parts and other car accessories. Though we operate within Ladipo market, we have enough delivery vehicles to satisfy our customers.”

  • Online shopping hits N78b

    A survey by Phillips Consulting shows that Nigeria’s growing middle class, the rising number of Internet-enabled devices and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) cashless policy are major drivers of online shopping and e-retail in Nigeria, which grew exponentially between 2010 and 2012.

    The report indicated that the local online shopping sector grew from N49.9 billion in 2010 to N68.4 billion in 2011 and to N78 billion in 2012, representing a growth of 25 per cent in each of the years.

    The survey showed that the Nigerian middle class, which currently stands at 38.8 million or 23 per cent of the population and which earns between N75,000 and N100,000 per month, was responsible for the increased spending on consumer products which accounted for nearly 80 per cent of online transactions.

    At 38.8 million Nigeria’s middle class is about 76 per cent of the total population of South Africa put at 51.2 millio

    CBN Cashless Policy Boosts Online Shopping Business

    The success recorded in the online shopping sector has been attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) cashless policy.

    According to David Allison, CEO of Adibba Online Shopping Limited, a new entrant into the online shopping platform, the value of online shopping in the country runs into several billions of dollars.

    “With the new cashless policy being gradually implemented in Nigeria, things are looking up. People are getting warmer towards the idea of doing transactions online with several platforms springing up” he said.

    Allison opines that Nigeria is over 50 percent ready for e-commerce, saying though there are scepticism about e-payment solutions but the business is growing and will grow as there are over 300 registered e-commerce sites presently, “as more people get enlightened on the business, it will reduce the burden of doubts,” he said.

  • Ivorian businesses open online stores

    JUMIA Ivory Coast is raising the stake for ivorian businesses as the online market place is offering brands, distributors and craftsmen the necessary means to develop and extend their selling network.

    JUMIA will now allow all distributors, from international brands to SMEs, operating in the country to benefit from a number of advantages when they open an online shop on JUMIA ‘shop-in-shop”.

    In a statement released by the online marketplace, subscribers to the JUMIA shop-in-shop platform can take advantage of JUMIA’s professional client-oriented approach, with agents who are trained to know the entire product range and answer all customer questions. “JUMIA has also developed the Net Promoter Score (NPS), which is a tool allowing the weekly measuring of customer satisfaction in order to continually improve service. On average, all customers purchasing products on JUMIA are contacted 15 minutes after their order.

    Moreover, the sellers do not encounter any logistics problems: JUMIA takes care of everything! From the order to shipping to customer aftercare, JUMIA brings Ivorian entrepreneurs the marketing and logistics expertise they need to conquer new markets.,” it said.

    The marketplace also allows sellers to benefit from exposure to hundreds of thousands of unique visitors every month, as well as a multichannel online and offline presence, in order to increase brand awareness and boost their sales.

    Speaking further, Fatoumata Ba, General Director of JUMIA Ivory Coast, said,  “JUMIA’s marketplace represents a unique opportunity and an extraordinary business accelerator, making your offer available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in Ivory Coast. In addition to our marketing and logistics expertise, our partners benefit from exposure to almost 300,000 unique visitors every month and the guarantee of an unequalled, international-standard quality of service.”

  • Depositors demand improved online services

    Depositors are clamouring for improved e-payment platform services. They complained to The Nation about poor Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) services, poor network at Point of Sale (PoS) terminals and online payment services.

    A real estate developer, Shina Aguda, said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cash-less initiative, which pioneered the e-payment services is noble, but must be improved to achieve result.

    He said in almost all cases where he used the ATM, the services always failed. According to him: “I have never used the ATM without it having a network issue and this has cost me a lot because I have to keep changing ATM cards on regular basis and this is not fair at all”.

    He said poor network services remained a challenge that the CBN and other stakeholders must address in customers’ interest.

    Aguda said banks could improve their technology and networks in order to replicate the seamless services witnessed in other countries.

    He advised the CBN and banks to take adequate measures that would guarantee safety of customers’ transactions especially those that use internet banking platforms.

    Another customer, Mr Kunle Adeshina, a businessman based in Lagos, said PoS is a better alternative to cash, adding that it is safer.

    He said carrying huge cash attracts risks that should be avoided, noting that poor quality network has made use of PoS frustrating for customers.

    Adeshina said most customers were interested in using e-payment platforms, adding that it is only quality service that will sustain such interests.

    An estate manager, Kenneth Opara, said service quality varies from bank to bank. He advised banks to deploy the right technology in improving services and customer satisfaction.

  • ‘Stop discrimination in online transactions’

    PayPal’s Regional Director for Africa and Israel, EfiDahan has called on stakeholders in the e-payment market to address discrimination against Nigeria in the e-commerce market.

    Speaking at a partnership forum with FirstBank, he said many merchants were refusing to approve transactions with Nigeria Internet Protocol (IP) address, noting that there is need to instill confidence in the global e-commerce market.

    PayPal entered 10 countries last week, including Nigeria, to provide online payment alternatives for consumers via mobile phones or personal computers in markets often blighted by financial fraud.

    PayPal Executive in charge of  Emerging Market, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region said the payments unit of eBay Inc, told Bloomberg the expansion would bring the number of countries it serves to 203.

    He said consumers in Nigeria, which has 60 million users and Africa’s largest population, along with nine other markets in sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America, would be able to make payments through PayPal.

    “PayPal has been going through a period of reinvention, refreshing many of its services to make them easier to use on mobile (phones), allowing us to expand into fast-developing markets,” Keeley said.

    Once the services go live, customers in the 10 countries with access to the Web and a bank card authorized for Internet transactions will be able to register for a PayPal account and make payments to millions of sites worldwide.

    Initially, PayPal is only offering “send money” services for consumers to pay for goods and services at PayPal-enabled merchant sites while safeguarding their financial details. This is free to consumers and covered by fees it charges merchants.

    “We think we can give our sellers selling into this market a great deal of reassurance,” said Keeley, a former regional banking executive with Standard Chartered Plc and senior executive with payment card company Visa Inc.

    PayPal does not yet cover peer-to-peer transactions, which allow consumers to send money to other consumers. It has not yet enabled local merchants in the new markets to receive payments, nor is it offering other forms of banking services, he said.

    A 2013 survey of 200 UK ecommerce sites by Visa’s CyberSource unit estimated that 1.26 percent of online orders are fraudulent and that 85 percent of merchants expected fraud to increase or remain static last year.

  • Capital market regulators issue guidelines on online trading

    Capital market regulators issue guidelines on online trading

    Securities regulators have designed guidelines for the growing number of retail online stockbroking portals that allow investors to execute their own orders on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    A reliable source said the regulators have raised a team to review the retail online stockbroking portals and develop a robust regulatory framework that could aid the growth of the segment and protect the investors and the market from abuses.

    The regulatory framework is expected to provide clear rules and guidelines for stockbroking firms and users of the online trading portals.

    There are no specific rules and guidelines for the online trading portals, which have emerged with the launching of the NSE’s new multi-faceted trading engine in 2013.

    At least four stockbroking firms have launched online retail stockbroking portals. These included Meristem Securities Limited, Lead Capital Plc, Morgan Capital Group and Capital Bancorp Plc.

    The regulatory framework, according to sources, would seek to protect the market and investors from the main risk of identity theft while allowing enough flexibility that could stimulate the growth of the online trading.

    NSE’s new trading engine, X-GEN, became fully operational in 2013. A dynamic platform that has numerous opportunities and capabilities, it is able to process some 100 million orders per day with 5,000 trades per second. It has a highly flexible and configurable market structure that can be enhanced to support the auctioning process and trading of several asset classes including Treasury Bills, a wide range of Fixed Income securities (including FGN Bonds), Equities, Exchange Traded Funds, Commodities and Derivatives.

    Based on NASDAQ OMX’s proven X-Stream technology, the X-Gen allows investors, through their stockbrokers, to have real-time access to market prices and their portfolios and provide them with ability to execute market orders in near real-time on a wide range of devices including smart phones and laptops from any location.

    Capital Bancorp is billed to formally launch its online stockbroking portal, Bancorp e-Trade, tomorrow. Bancorp e-Trade enables retail investors with as low as N1,000 to open stockbroking accounts and trade on these accounts.

    Managing Director, Capital Bancorp Plc, Mr. Higo Aigboje, said the portal will provide investors with round-the-clock access to their portfolio and cash statements while investors can also place their orders within and outside the trading hours of the NSE.

    According to him, Bancorp e-Trade is designed as a convenient and transparent means to ensure investors are in control of their investments at any time.

    To be eligible to trade on the portal, one needs only access to internet, a functioning e-mail address, any active bank account, a fair understanding of the workings of the stock market and a stockbroking account with Capital Bancorp.

    He outlined that his firm has simplified the account opening process for new investors as they only need to fill account opening form and upload scanned passport photo, scanned utility bill that is not later than three months, scanned specimen signature, scanned mode of identification and their bank details.

    The features of Bancorp e-Trade, which sits on the infoware e-business suite platform, included display of balance in any currency of choice, online mandate, ability to specify expiry dates on orders, display of portfolio balance and portfolio analysis, statement of account, ability to view and download contract note in different formats, ability to view certificates and verification status, live streaming of stock market prices, live portfolio valuation, amendments or cancellation to undone transactions, graphs and charts and online real-time client information.

  • Retailers swallow online food cost to lock in shoppers

    Big retailers are taking a calculated hit to margins to invest in online grocery operations, with the hope they can persuade consumers to add more profitable items like clothes and computers to their orders of fruit and vegetables.

    According to Reuters, food has been one of the last things to move online because complex logistics for fresh, chilled and frozen products make it an expensive business. Retailers are also reluctant to lose the potential for the lucrative impulse buys that occur in-store.

    However, retailers in Europe and North America are now ramping up their online food offer to compete with Amazon.com, which is expected to expand its sale of fresh produce beyond a few trial areas with the aim of complementing its non-food sales – and eating other retailers’ lunch.

    “They are trying to hook customers up to brands for their grocery shop and hope they will spend on non-food which is lower headache and higher margin, which will drive profitability,” said Sophie Albizua of retail consultancy eNova Partnership.

    “It is notoriously difficult to make money selling groceries online. The reason why people do it and need to do it have nothing to do with profit and nothing to do with groceries.”

    Britain has led the way in selling groceries online, with e-commerce already accounting for some five per cent of food sales. Other countries like France are now catching up and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) predicts the global market will grow to $100 billion by 2018 from $36 billion last year.

  • Online shopping to more than double by 2016

    Online shopping to more than double by 2016

    Online shopping by urban consumers will more than double over the next two years in the country to 14 per cent from six per cent last year, says a Boston Consultancy Group report.

    According to the BCG digital influence study 2013-14, online shopping is expected to rise to 14 percent by 2016 from six per cent last year. It also said already 25 per cent of travel and tourism-related sales are digitally driven in the country currently.

    Digital influence is rapidly expanding to small urban towns and rural areas, as the number of mobile users have increased. More than 34 per cent of total Internet users in the country are from small towns, while 25 per cent are from rural areas.

    Of the total urban Internet users, around 57 per cent are of 25 and above, and 45 per cent use only their mobile devices to access the Internet.

    The study also said by 2016, the urban Internet user base would rise to 47 per cent from 28 per cent last year.

    According to the report, discounts are not the only driving force for people to switch to online shopping, as was previously thought, but factors like convenience and access to wider assortment is also largely influencing shopping decisions.

    Giving a snapshot of the key sectors driving online shopping, the report said the airline ticketing led the chart with 25 percent of sales being completed online last year, while the same stood at six per cent in regard to cars, though 32 per cent searched online before buying. However, only eight per cent of the mobile/PC sales were online during the same period.