There has been a significant shift in consumer online shopping behavior, with everyday product categories such as fast-moving consumer goods and beauty products noticeably picking up across the continent.
In a new report, e-commerce platform Jumia indicates that the products accounted for 57% of gross merchandise volume in 2020, up from 44% in 2019. Under the same category, phones and electronics, however, dropped marginally, by 43% in 2020, down from 44% posted in 2019.
The ‘Africa E-commerce Index 2021’ reveals that this shift is part of a broader economic transformation led by the continent’s young, urban and tech-savvy population. In terms of best-selling products, the 2-kilogramme sugar pack was the best selling product on Jumia in both 2019 and 2020 in Kenya.
When products were split by the number of products sold, fashion-led at 21%, followed by beauty products at 15%; home and living, digital services and food delivery tied at 12%. The report also notes that fast-moving consumer goods accounted for 10%, while phones, electronics and others accounted for 8%, 7% and 3%, respectively.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), internet businesses in Africa, including e-commerce which sits at the heart of the digital economy, could add US$180 billion to the continent’s GDP by 2025. Torbjorn Fredriksson, Head of E-commerce and Digital economy at the organisation, noted that COVID-19 led to a surge in the use of digital solutions, including e-commerce. “This was particularly demonstrated with domestic sales rather than cross-border e-commerce. Food delivery, essentials and pharmaceutical goods were among the top-performing online shopping categories,” he said.
Through the Digital Commerce Program, the partners said they would register and train thousands of businesses to sell online with access to over four million Kenyans that visit the e-commerce platform Jumia every month.
