More products, services’ll migrate to online platforms – Awoofdey boss Chief Executive Officer of Awoofdey Marketing Place, an online shopping platform, Mr. Peter Elofusim, speaks with EVEREST AMAEFULE on the state of electronic commerce in Nigeria and calls for effective regulation what is your assessment of electronic commerce in the country? E-commerce is actually the next big thing in Nigeria. Every condition needed to create a burgeoning e-commerce business exists in this country: increasingly busy working class, poor traffic management, very young and technologically well-informed demographics, and increased penetration of the data network coverage and above all, the borderless nature of the e-commerce industry. We are still at an infant stage and as you can see, what are emerging now are broad-based e-commerce concerns offering about anything and everything. You are going to witness more and more products and services offered from brick and mortar outlets migrate to online platforms. As time goes by, we shall see increasing segmentation and specialisation. You are going to see e-commerce sites focusing on only agro products and services. Some will focus on medical supplies, among others. Many businesses like motor spare parts dealership and confectioneries will move from brick and mortar to online world. The opportunities are limitless. I come from the part of the country where commerce comes to us as a second nature. We are known to be traders by birth and by inclination. However, it is about to change, in fact with the emergence of e-commerce. In this era, commerce is not the exclusive preserve of any ethnic group. Unfortunately, the typical Igbo trader is not aware of what is about to hit him. If he does not buckle up and embrace e-commerce, it will be like the case of “the first shall be last, and the last the first.” Now you do not need to own or rent a shop in Alaba, Idumota, Onitsha Main Market, or Nkwo Nnewi to sell to the populace. E-commerce offers you a platform to sell to the whole of Nigeria from a very small room in a very small town anywhere in the country. All you need is a robust ecommerce site and a robust logistics in place, with integrity in capital letters and you are ready to go. You are able to sell to the whole country as against selling to only people who are able to brave the chaotic traffic situation to visit your market. E-commerce is going to disrupt a lot of permutations as shop renting and plaza building will become less and less the norm as fewer and fewer people will find need to rent such shops. One of the problems that Nigerians have with online transactions is security. How secured are online transactions in the country? I must tell you that this is not peculiar to Nigeria. In established and advanced economies, all online shoppers are keen on making payment after delivery for the same reason a Nigerian shopper would do it. There are still people that pay cash on delivery no matter the assurances put out there. Whatever fear Nigerian online shoppers are expressing, as far as security of payment platforms is concerned can be taken to be what should be expected at this adoptive stage of the e-commerce. However, I want to tell you that in the United States alone, consumers spend billions of dollars per year over the Internet. I also want to tell you that many online stores have taken measures to make purchases as secure as possible. Many sites are built with the use of advanced encryption methods and validation processes to ensure your credit or debit card number remains safe. Some stores also launch a pop-up window to indicate when you are moving to an unsafe area. I also advise online shoppers to always keep their electronic receipts or e-mail confirmation for their online purchases. They are always handy to track delivery and evidence in case there is a resultant dispute over the transaction. Many Nigerians also believe that online transactions are for techies, is this true? If not, what efforts are being made to ensure that many more Nigerians use online platforms? You need certain level of computer appreciation to be able to navigate the different sections of an e-commerce site for a successful experience. At Awoofdey, we have our colleagues going into streets with personal electronic devices and guiding prospective shoppers through the process of registration, window shopping and in some cases, the transaction is closed on the spot and the initial fear of how to handle the whole process is in most cases overcome by the shopper. We realise that some people out there are just looking for people who will hold their hands and walk them through what they mentally consider as labyrinth. With the Awoofdey experience, they are better disposed to coming back and even trying out some other websites as their confidence level has been boosted. Increasingly, there are many more applications being launched that enable very old people who are not technologically savvy to have the e-commerce experience by just tapping icons intuitively until they land. I have an advice for the merchants still stuck in the brick and mortar business and may be finding it difficult to adjust to the new trend in the merchandising of their products. I will advise that they invest in human capacity building by getting themselves trained or employing staff who have good computer appreciation to manage their inventory, sales, records, logistics online so they do not become dinosaurs in the 21st century. Some online operators build platforms and allow clients to display their merchandise and services. How does Awoofdey operate? Awoofdey is essentially a market place online presence that allows other vendors, manufacturers, merchants of all sorts to display their goods and services in an orderly manner. However, we insist that you must buy into the Awoofdey philosophy that says, “One does not have to break the bank to enjoy the good things of life.” We believe that with economics of scale, shoppers can have good pricing experience matched with quality goods and services. We essentially offer merchants the ability to rent an e-shop but unlike the traditional shop rental model, we do not collect money upfront. We are paid when you make a sale. Do you warehouse the products you have for sale or do you have special relationships with manufacturers and vendors that enable you pick products required by your clients? Awoofdey Marketing Limited is also one of the patrons of the Awoofdey Market Place. We do have our own products, which we have sourced round the globe and delivered at very low prices to prove to our neighbours, or intending neighbours on the electronic market place that it can be done. One of the challenges of businesses in the country generally is the problem of infrastructure. How does infrastructure challenge affect electronic commerce in the country? Well, the essentials for a successful online transaction are – a laptop or smart phone, high-speed Internet, a functional and navigable website. All these need good power to work. Well, you know the story about our power situation. We hope that with the new initiatives by the government, things will only get better. What is the state of regulation for online operators in the country? Do you have common codes being implemented by operators in the sector? Presently, there is no regulation in the industry and this has become my constant agitation. With regulation, there is going to be increased consumer confidence because with regulation comes certification of the processes. In addition, with a regulator, data on the emerging trends are easily available for planning programmes. How do you see the future of electronic commerce in the country? Moreover, how do you think operators in the sector can contribute to making Nigeria one of the largest economies in the world by the year 2020? When the Federal Government rebased the Nigerian economy recently and took into consideration the activities, which until now were not fashioned into the calculation of the Gross Domestic Project, the world suddenly switched from a cursory look at Nigeria to a hard and focused gaze at the country. But I want to tell you that with the energy and the dynamism coupled with the entrepreneurial spirit of the average Nigerian, e-commerce is set to put the Nigerian economy on the world map, as it is presently a relatively virgin ground. Why do I say this? Germany is Europe’s largest economy and after Russia, it is Europe’s most populous country. According to data available to us, the online retail market in Germany is almost €50bn and it is expected that e-commerce revenue will account for about 53 per cent of the total GDP in Germany by 2017. Now, this is why I have been calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria to set up a body or mandate the Ministry of Commerce to train its staff in the area of auditing of the existing and emerging online shops in Nigeria. This would properly follow the emerging trends as they unfold and efficiently report the necessary data, which can be used in the next rebasing coming up in five years. My belief is that e-commerce should be able to account for at least 30 per cent of the GDP of the Nigerian economy with the way things are unfolding. Presently, China is experiencing huge growth in e-commerce; it is estimated that e-commerce in China will be worth $40bn by 2015 and by 2020 worth more than e-commerce in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany and France combined. I believe that with the tempo of activities now in ecommerce, Nigeria will be in the top 10 economies of the world by 2020. Copyright PUNCH.All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. Contact: editor@punchng ift.tt/1vmaQjY ift.tt/1vmb0HT [[Boost your social presence with NAIRALIKES nairalikes ]] #nigeria x #nairalikes #vanguardng
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 23:50:31 +0000
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