Online shopping edging up, but sub-Saharan Africans still don’t trust e-commerce
Although online shopping is growing, the majority of people in sub-Saharan Africa do not trust e-commerce yet, the GeoPoll survey released on Tuesday showed. The survey was conducted in five African countries — Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana. According to the survey, 60% of South Africans buy items online every few months compared with 45% in Kenya and 66% in Nigeria. At least 55% of Ghanaians and 51% of Ugandans have never bought anything online. Many of those who had tried online shopping had only tried it once. Among the top reasons sighted for not frequently using online shopping sites were lack of trust, shipping costs, unsupported payment methods, or because a friend had a bad experience. Many complained of unreliability of some sites, poor delivery and the purchase process. Others felt that there is no need for online purchases as the items were readily available at their local store.
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