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General News

AppsFlyer Gives Insight into Global E-Commerce Trends for 2023

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By Sue Azari

It is no secret that over the past few years the e-commerce industry has been constantly and rapidly evolving, with COVID-19 playing a significant role.

Many retailers have experienced highs as a result of the pandemic, with consumers taking advantage of the convenience of shopping for pretty much anything right from the comfort of their living room; whilst others such as offline retailers suffered, due to their lack of a digital footprint when lockdown was introduced.

Judging by recent trends, global retail e-commerce sales will continue to soar in 2023, showcasing the adaptability of e-commerce, which has gone through tremendous change over the past 30 years.

As we look ahead to 2023, and the challenges e-commerce retailers have faced post pandemic – from economic uncertainty to supply chain issues – it’s not all doom and gloom, as with great challenges come great opportunities.

The future looks particularly bright for e-commerce retailers that are placing customers at the forefront and creating better customer experiences, as well as staying on top of ever evolving e-commerce trends.

Here are some of the most notable e-commerce trends to look out for in 2023:

  1. The rise and rise of Mobile Commerce

Mobile commerce has been on the rise within the e-commerce industry for some time now, thanks to the pandemic.

According to AppsFlyer benchmark data, total mobile app installs on the African continent grew by 17% in the first part of 2022 compared to early 2021. As consumers are increasingly shopping for and purchasing products using mobile devices like phones and tablets, mobile commerce sales are expected to rise significantly in 2023, and beyond.

It is rapidly becoming the preferred channel for shopping, and we’re now seeing more traditional retailers join in the trend, prioritising mobile as an alternative channel for delivering exceptional customer experiences, for both new and existing customers.

For the future, e-commerce retailers need to focus on mobile first solutions such as mobile payment options like Apple and Google pay.

  1. Omnichannel E-Commerce coming into play

After two years of predominantly online shopping, consumers are ready for in-store experiences again. Although mobile commerce is thriving more than ever, post pandemic has seen a slight shift in consumers reverting back to offline shopping, with retailers now expanding their number of stores, and pure online retailers opening up physical pop-stores.

Many consumers have missed being able to physically go into a store and select an item. To reinforce this, the role of the store has changed, with retailers opting for the more experiential and inspirational in-store experiences moving forward into the new year, Shoprite being a prime example of this, already implementing the use of AI in their South African stores, with the aim of enhancing the customer journey through the store.

A major challenge which arose with stores reopening post pandemic was the convergence of online and offline experiences. Having said this, some retailers are taking the necessary measures to bridge that gap, and are finding ways to incorporate online into the in-store experience.

As post pandemic in-store shopping continues to grow, many brands have turned to the use of apps to enhance in-store shopping experiences.

These apps are able to give in-store associates access to customer account details to provide better service, and ensure in-store inventory is reflected in real-time online, all in a bid to create a more natural shopping experience online for customers.

Brands are becoming increasingly reliant on more channels for customers to shop, and it is important they have good visibility across each channel.

  1. The impact of Social Commerce

The astronomical growth of social commerce will undoubtedly continue in 2023. The global social commerce market is set to reach a whopping $604.5 billion by 2027. With social media attracting high engagement levels from a wide audience who typically spend almost 2.5 hours on these platforms per day, it makes it much easier for e-commerce retailers to capture and build closer connections with customers amidst the economic downturn.

Another advantage of social commerce is that it offers a frictionless journey between inspiration and purchase. Until very recently,  consumers would have to seek out their inspiration on social media, then head back to a website for purchase. Today, social media is now a one-stop shop, streamlining the experience and minimising the risk of drop offs.

  1. Re-commerce breaking through the clutter

Environmentally-friendly products can influence today’s consumer’s choices. As sustainability is increasingly becoming an essential factor in the consumer’s decision making process, re-commerce will play a much bigger role when it comes to 2023 e-commerce trends.

Consumers are now willing to spend more on sustainable products for health and fitness, and general environmental good, as taking care of the planet and environment is no longer just a marketing stunt or a nice-to-have.

It is paramount that e-commerce retailers take this into consideration in a way that will still be profitable to them. E-commerce retailers can gain a competitive edge in 2023 by choosing greener products and packaging, and adopting more and more environmentally sound practices.

  1. Personalisation key to brand loyalty

Today’s consumer demands a more personalised shopping experience from their favourite brands, therefore personalisation is expected to be a big trend in 2023. Most consumers crave a brand that knows them well enough to offer up personalised shopping experiences.

Personalisation works best when e-commerce retailers use the customer’s touch points and journey data to boost customer engagement and loyalty. This means engaging them on the channels they prefer, and supporting them throughout their entire customer journey with personalised offers.

The latest e-commerce trends are adopting new technologies and unprecedented business practices, which in turn show that customer experience is heading towards being an always-on 2023 e-commerce trend. E-commerce retailers should look to adopt some of these trends in order to stay ahead of the competition next year, and beyond.

Sue Azari is E-Commerce Lead at AppsFlyer

 


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General News

FG Declares Admissions outside CAPS Illegal

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Federal government has declared that any admission into tertiary institutions conducted outside the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), will be deemed illegal.

FG Declares Admissions outside CAPS Illegal

Dr Tunji Alausa, minister of Education, gave the directive in Abuja on Tuesday at the 2025 policy meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

Alausa, therefore, warned universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education across the country against illegal admission.

He said institutions and individuals involved in such practices would be prosecuted and severely sanctioned.

“Any admission conducted outside CAPS, regardless of its intentions, is illegal.

“Both institutions and the candidates involved in such practices will be held accountable.

“Sanctions may include withdrawal of institutional assets and prosecution of culpable officers or governing council members,” he said.

CAPS, introduced in 2017, automates the admission process to eliminate human interference and administrative bottlenecks.

Alausa, however, reiterated the government’s commitment to strengthen transparency, fairness, and accountability in the nation’s tertiary education system.

He explained that while the responsibility for initiating admissions rests with the academic boards of each institution, JAMB, as a statutory regulatory body is mandated to oversee and regulate the process to ensure fairness and equity.

The Minister urged vice-chancellors, rectors, provosts, and governing councils to intensify oversight functions to prevent unauthorised practices.

He assured that the Ministry would monitor compliance closely in collaboration with JAMB.

The minister also reaffirmed the policy mandating integration of the National Identification Number (NIN) into the JAMB registration process.

“The NIN requirement has proven vital in safeguarding the integrity of our admission system by curbing identity fraud and multiple registrations.

“Any abuse of the NIN system will be identified and punished,” he said.

He highlighted the need for data-driven policies in the admission processes.

The Minister also presented statistics showing a mismatch between available admission quotas and actual student intake across many programmes, especially in agriculture, education, engineering, and the health sciences.

“We have capacity, but we are not admitting enough students.

“We need to start closing the gap, so that more children can access tertiary education,” he said.

He also criticised the proliferation of underutilised institutions, revealing that over 120 universities in Nigeria received fewer than 50 applications in the current admission cycle.

“The problem is not about access, it’s about alignment and capacity.

“We don’t need to open new tertiary institutions in every ward. Instead, we must expand and strengthen the capacity of existing ones,” he said.

On his part, Sen. Shuaib Salisu, chairman, Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity,  called for stricter sanctions against institutions and administrators who undermine Nigeria’s admission process.

Salisu proposed the criminalisation of fraudulent admission practices.

He also warned institutions that exploit loopholes in the admissions system, allowing students to unknowingly pursue flawed admissions for years to desist from such practices.

He assured that the Senate Committee would explore legislation to criminalise such fraudulent practices, holding admission officers and institutional management accountable.

Salisu also called for an inclusive education system that drives peace and economic growth.


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General News

BRICS Leaders Seek Inclusive Access to AI

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To support a constructive debate towards a balanced artificial intelligence (AI) approach, the BRICS leaders have agreed on a set of guidelines to foster responsible development, deployment and use of AI technologies for sustainable development and inclusive growth.

The leaders of the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – published a joint statement calling for a global governance framework for AI that is inclusive, representative and rooted in the principles of sovereignty, development and ethical responsibility.

The guidelines, which strictly refer to the use of AI in the non-military domain, should be applied through either domestic or applicable international frameworks, as well as through the development of interoperable standards and protocols, in inclusive, transparent and consensus-based processes, the statement reads.

BRICS is a political and diplomatic coordination forum for countries from the Global South. This year’s theme was “Strengthening global south cooperation for more inclusive and sustainable governance”.

The BRICS leaders’ statement positions AI as a transformative force for sustainable development and innovation, while also warning against uncoordinated governance models that could deepen global inequities, marginalise developing nations and fracture multilateralism.

It emphasises that AI governance should be anchored in the United Nations system to ensure inclusivity and legitimacy.

The BRICS countries warn against a fragmented regulatory landscape, advocating for co-ordinated multilateralism that includes the voices of developing countries – particularly from the Global South.

BRICS leaders reaffirmed their support for Digital sovereignty, saying each country must retain the right to shape AI policy and technology in line with its own development goals and legal frameworks. This includes capacity-building, data governance and technological autonomy.

“We firmly support the right of all countries to harness the benefits of the digital economy… to develop capacities in AI research, foster technological autonomy and innovation, ensure data protection, and promote their own digital economy,” the statement reads.

A major theme in the document is the need for fair, equitable and inclusive access to AI technologies. The BRICS leaders stress that all countries – regardless of economic standing – must be able to access and benefit from AI.

The group also called for global co-operation in building data governance frameworks that allow developing countries secure and equitable access to data, with full respect for privacy, intellectual property rights and national laws. This ties into support for open science, open innovation and open-source AI models that can fuel local innovation ecosystems.

On intellectual property, the statement advocates for a balance between proprietary rights and public interest to prevent exploitative data practices and ensure transparency in AI model development and deployment.

The BRICS countries voiced concern over algorithmic bias and the exclusion of underrepresented cultures and languages in AI datasets and models.

They called for ethical, transparent and accountable AI development that reflects cultural, demographic and linguistic diversity.

They also endorsed UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and called for international co-operation to develop inclusive datasets, tools to flag misinformation and mechanisms to mitigate bias – especially against vulnerable groups like women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

The BRICS nations stressed the importance of using AI as a tool for sustainable development, citing sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education, energy and environmental conservation as priority areas.

They urged that AI development must be environmentally responsible, minimising carbon emissions and e-waste.

The potential of AI to enhance productivity and job creation was also recognised, as well as the risks of job displacement and exploitation. The statement calls for policies that safeguard worker rights, ensure compatibility between AI and human capabilities, and promote decent work in the digital economy.

“It is imperative to safeguard the rights and wellbeing of all workers, particularly those directly affected by the digital transformation… including generative AI,” the statement says.

The BRICS statement ends with a commitment to intensify co-ordination on AI governance and share the guidelines across international platforms. It extends an open invitation to other developing countries to contribute to and refine the emerging global framework for AI.

“We welcome contributions to further develop these guidelines, particularly from other developing countries, and will remain open to revisiting them.”


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Tech-driven Solutions Receive Commendation @ Maiden Insurance Week Hackathon

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Mrs Yetunde Ilori, President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), has commended the innovative and technology-driven solutions presented during the institute’s maiden Insurance Week Hackathon competition.

Ilori gave the commendation after the completion of the competition on Thursday in Lagos, held at the College of Insurance and Financial Management in Asese, Ogun, as part of the Insurance Week organised by the CIIN.

She described the solutions as crucial to the industry’s transformation and relevance in the digital age. “This shows that the future is bright for the Nigerian insurance industry.

We are transforming as an industry, and digital innovation is at the heart of that transformation,” Ilori said. She noted that 19 teams initially applied for the competition, but only six were shortlisted.

The competition, which targeted young Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 29, engaged six finalist teams over a fourweek intensive innovation process, culminating in a demo day on Wednesday in Lagos.

The hackathon focused on real-world challenges in the sector, such as inclusive insurance, fraud detection, risk management, and improving customer experience.

It was designed to cultivate the next generation of insurance innovators, deepen insurance awareness, and promote financial literacy among Nigerians.

The teams that participated in the final stage of the competition were: Ifokanbale, Insurbridge, Insurvate, Team Aegis, Team Phoenix, and The Assured Team. Team Aegis developed “Hustle Guard,” a microinsurance solution for tricycle drivers covering health, life, and income, in an effort to demystify micro insurance in Nigeria.

The Assured Team presented “Kolo Plus by Card,” an unstructured savings plan with payment and interest features tailored to low-income earners. Team Insurbridge created “Smarter Claims,” a solution aimed at improving the insurance claims process.

Team Phoenix introduced “HerShield,” a solution focused on empowering women and building trust in the insurance sector. The Assured Team also developed additional ideas to drive insurance penetration in underserved and informal communities.

After an engaging pitch session before a panel of judges, Team Insurvate emerged as the overall winner with its solution, “Claim Central”, an end-to-end digital platform designed to streamline the insurance claims process from policyholders to insurers.

Team Aegis secured second place, while Team Phoenix came in third. The panel of judges included financial sector experts such as Norah Igwe, Tunji Andrews, Diana Mulili, Sakeenat Bakare, Ibraheem Babalola, and Prince Adeshina Adeyemi-Doro.

Also speaking, Mr Eddie Efekoha, Chairman of the Insurance Week, said the hackathon demonstrated a conscious effort to explore how technology can help distribute insurance products to all parts of the country.

“We believe this initiative will spark more interest among the youth to engage with insurance, not just as consumers but as creators and innovators,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the winning team, Mr Odunayo Ojeremi, leader of Team Insurvate, described the competition as highly competitive and rewarding. “We are excited and grateful for the opportunity.

“We didn’t expect to win, but we are glad our solution was recognised. We hope to improve ‘Claim Central’ and make it a platform that ensures seamless claims processing,” he said.


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