E-Business
How eCommerce is Making Prices of Good & Services More Affordable
By Adeniyi Ogunfowoke
Change is the only constant thing in life. The modus operandi of doing business in Nigeria has significantly been disrupted since the entry of eCommerce. One of the areas that the impact of ecommerce is currently being felt is in the prices of goods and services.
Gone are the days when shoppers have to visit physical stores or markets to haggle about prices. Sometimes, the prices at these stores are so outrageous that you end up either buying the product at an exorbitant face price, or buying a low-quality product because it is cheaper or you simply return home empty-handed. If any of the aforementioned happens to you, you are in a no-win situation.
Presently, a millennial or tech-savvy person who wants to buy anything is most likely to visit an ecommerce store. Apart from the fact that you will get a quick and real-time idea of what you intend to buy, you have the opportunity of comparing the prices of different brands in the same product category.
Offline vs Online Prices
The prices of goods and services online are not hidden. It is visible for everyone to see and of course, ecommerce companies like Jumia have made efforts to get shoppers and deal-scavengers the best price. Interestingly, to give you assurances that you are being offered the best price, Jumia recently ran a campaign tagged ‘Last Price Campaign’. The objective was to offer customers the very best prices on over 1,000 iconic products across all categories on its platform.
This is the level of guarantee that ecommerce companies are giving their customers who always desire the best price. In fact, competition in the ecommerce space is also driving down the prices.
There are many online stores who want a chunk of the market. One way to attract with the customers is by offering them the best price. So, beyond the convenience of being able to book a hotel or buy an item at any time of the day, an ecommerce store like Jumia will offer the best price on good and services. And since Jumia is now an ecosystem, shoppers have the opportunity of receiving the best deals on travel, food, and services.
To lend credence to this, if you book directly with the hotel, you will be getting the exact rates of the rooms. Conversely, if you book with an online travel agency like Jumia’s hotel and flight services, you will get a discounted price because they already negotiated the best price on your behalf. In addition to this, customers can take advantage of coupons and vouchers.
Currently, it appears as if the price war is not between offline and online stores but among online stores.
For the offline stores, shoppers have the advantage of haggling prices. The truth is that not many people want to go through this. But, if you decide to visit a departmental store, you simply accept whatever price you are offered. No negotiation…that is the last price.
Here, you cannot blame the brick and mortar store. Factors such as rent, electricity, payroll, fixtures and shrinkage loss all contribute to the gross margin and overhead of doing business in a shopping centre or elsewhere. This is why many offline stores are moving online. That’s not saying that these things don’t affect online retailers. They do, but online stores have a relatively better return on investment when compared with offline stores.
This is perhaps another reason to shop online as you have the virtual chances to visit different websites to get the best price.
The biggest shopping festival of the year: Black Friday
Black Friday, which is usually held in November is the biggest shopping festival in the world. A time to enjoy ‘crazie’ discounts on products and services. Nigerians have caught the Black Friday fever that they now save to cash in on the sales.
The fact remains that shoppers will get the best Black Friday deals and prices online and in the same vein, the goods will be delivered at their doorsteps. This is not the case with offline stores and if you factor in their high prices, it is advisable to stick with online shopping.
More importantly, the ‘shopping madness’ associated with Black Friday will be ultimately bypassed.
Can every day be Black Friday?
Thousands of customers will really love every day to be Black Friday. Clearly, this is not possible because fantastic deals and discount are usually one-off and they are only offered on Black Friday. Regardless, customers will still get the best deals. As earlier mentioned, competition is impacting price and it has helped online stores to offer the best available price.
All communities in Abia State are to be connected to Internet Service within the next 9 months, according to Dr. Alex Otti, state governor.
All communities in Abia State are to be connected to Internet Service within the next 9 months, according to Dr. Alex Otti, state governor.
Otti stated this at the Nnamdi Azikiwe State Secretariat premises at Umuahia, the state capital, while flagging off the first phase of the Umuahia Dedicated Internet Access/Wide Area Network And Managed Network Services Project (Project), saying that it promises to re-engineer efficiency and flexibility in operations and interactions within and amongst institutions, enhance policy execution, and engender a culture of outcome-oriented competition amongst civil servants.
The Project is being handled by iPNX, a major internet service provider.
At the ceremony, Otti, said the project includes distributing high-performance digital tools, laying fibre optic cables in public institutions, and installing infrastructure for high-speed data transmission.
He added that the initiative focuses on improving leadership efficiency, empowering civil servants with digital tools, and enhancing service delivery.
Transitioning to digital platforms would streamline government processes, enable faster communication among Ministries, departments, and Areas (MDAs), and improve engagement with development partners and the global community.
The governor also announced a mandatory digital literacy requirement for civil servants, making proficiency in technology essential for career growth.
Assuring that while the government would provide training, those unwilling to embrace technology risk becoming uncompetitive in the evolving civil service structure.
Plans are underway to expand digital access across Abia, with an agreement already in place to lay fiber optic cables in Aba, Umuahia, and Ohafia.
Otti directed Mr. Gerald Ilukwe, chief information officer to ensure that within nine months, every community in Abia must have reliable network service, enabling businesses to thrive virtually.
The Governor urged the people of Abia to embrace technology as a tool for empowerment rather than a replacement for human roles as the use of technology ought to be on enhancing service delivery and economic development, as well as keeping human decision-making at the core of governance.
The commencement of the initiative marks a major milestone in Abia’s journey towards a fully digital economy.
Ilukwe, described the project as a critical foundation for a digital government, emphasising its role in modernising service delivery.
Ilukwe said Phase I of the initiative prioritises multi-tenant buildings and complexes housing multiple MDAs and assured that MDAs not included in this phase would be covered in subsequent stages.
“Even as we are rounding off this phase, we are already preparing for the next, by the end of this service year, the entire government offices in Umuahia will be interconnected on a single network,” Ilukwe said.
Mr Ejovi Aror, group managing director, ipNX, expressed gratitude to Gov. Alex Otti for the opportunity to be part of the state’s digital transformation journey.
“This partnership signals the beginning of a new chapter in the journey towards building a digitally connected, technologically advanced, and economically empowered Abia State,” Aror said.
Visa, global payment services giant, has announced plans to establish a data centre infrastructure in Nigeria.
Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe and Vice-President Kashim Shettima
According to a statement by Stanley Nkwocha, senior special assistant to the president on media and communications (office of the vice-president) on Friday, Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, spoke during a courtesy visit to Vice-President Kashim Shettima at the presidential villa in Abuja.
“This is in addition to its investments of over $1 billion in the country, including a substantial technological partnership with @moniepoint to foster digital payment solutions, a $200 million investment in Interswitch, and a partnership with @thriveagric to empower smallholder farmers and enhance food security in Nigeria,” the statement reads.
During the meeting, Torre said the plan to establish the data centre infrastructure aims to bring new technologies into the Nigerian market that would bolster the nation’s growing digital economy.
“Visa has been making investments and will continue to make these investments in Nigeria,” he said.
Responding, Shettima welcomed Visa’s expansion efforts, assuring the delegation that the partnership between Visa and the Nigerian government would continue to flourish.
The vice-president commended the company for investing in ThriveAgric, noting that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is deeply committed to repositioning the agriculture sector, which remains a top priority in its 8-point agenda.
“Nigeria is where the action is. Of the 10 fintechs in Africa, about eight are in Nigeria, with moniepoint as the newest addition,” Shettima said.
“Agriculture is key to the 8-point agenda of the present administration. President @officialABAT is really keen on repositioning the agriculture industry here, and we have to invest in technology, we have to invest in modernisation.”
On January 23, Moniepoint, a Nigerian fintech company, announced it secured investment from Visa to support the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe and Vice-President Kashim Shettima
Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has approved N242.8m for the procurement of a Microsoft 365 licence for its Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) as part of efforts to digitise the service’s operations.
Mr Michael Ango, acting executive chairman of FCT-IRS, disclosed this after the FCT Executive Committee meeting chaired by Mr Nyesom Wike, the minister of FCTA, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Ango said that the FCTA was making significant investments in technology to enhance revenue generation and collection.
“So, this is also one of those investments in technology that the FCT is undertaking.
“The licence, if procured, will enhance our ability to move most of our manual processes into automated processes.
“It will enhance our ability to communicate within our offices,” he said.
The executive chairman added that the move would also reduce the use of paper and ensure better record-keeping through the storage of information and documents in the cloud.
According to him, “The licence will essentially enhance our operations and assist us in generating revenue for the development of the FCT under Wike’s leadership.”
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