Building an online shop in Kenya isn’t easy. A lot of work and hustles are involved.
You must identify a potentially profitable business niche and choose a brand name.
But it doesn’t end there. You have to buy a domain name and a hosting package. You then need to hire a designer to build your ecommerce shop.
Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs go through such a tiresome process but reap nothing from their investment.
Numbers don’t lie. Oberlo published article says,
Only about 1.62% of visits to e-commerce websites convert into purchases. This means out of every 100 visitors, only one or two are likely to make a purchase.
But the odds are even lower because
Approximately 80% of shopping carts are abandoned before the purchase is completed.
In Kenya, the probability of your e-commerce website making a successful sale is far much lower.
Here are the reasons your website isn’t making sales.
Poor website performance
Out of every 10 Kenyan ecommerce platforms I visited, 8 of them have severe performance issues. The most common issue is the loading speed.
Visitors don’t have the patience to wait beyond 5 seconds for a page to load.
Yet, many online shops in Kenya will slap you with over 5 minutes of loading time. Who has that time?
Still, a huge number of customers abandon their shopping carts due to technical glitches and dead links.
Dishonesty of online sellers
Many Kenyan internet-preneurs want to sell but disregard the quality of being honest.
You find an online shop that has beautiful, attractive captions or videos of what you’re looking for. You make the purchase and pay the delivery fee.
And finally, the product is at your doorstep, you notice the commodity delivered to you is the exact definition of what you don’t want. But there is the worst part of it.
As the seller already has your money, they no longer return your calls. Your messages go unanswered. You feel scammed.
Dishonest deals damage the reputation of online shops in Kenya, making it challenging for entrepreneurs to attract and retain customers.
Bad Communication
First things first. Bad communication.
Have online shops in Kenya maintained consistency in communicating with their client? No
Often no one is available to answer your queries. Or the website has no email address. And a few times, a phone number is somehow provided, but it’s inactive.
You wouldn’t be surprised that calls go through, but the guy on the other side never attends to calls.
Once a potential shopper doesn’t get quick and helpful responses to their inquiries and issues, that’s a lost sale.
Weak Brand Identity
Guess what? 12 to 24 million digital marketplaces are out there.
How do you stand out in the crowd? Make your brand known.
Unfortunately, many online shops in Kenya struggle with brand building.
They understand they need to compete against established peers but choose to ignore the marketing part of the game.
How many online shops in Kenya invest in paid ads –say Google ads or sponsored posts on popular websites and blogs? A handful.
Effects? Hundreds of non-advertising brands die from visibility and customer engagement deficiencies.
Counterfeit Goods
No one wants to spend their hard-earned money on substandard products. But that’s where many online shops in Kenya miss it.
A few years ago, I ordered a Sony home theatre at a popular online shop. The box had everything I paid for, but they were all counterfeit.
And with that feeling of being deceived, being played, that became my first and last purchase from that virtual shop.
Mine isn’t an isolated case. Many Kenyans don’t shop online for fear of being scammed.
Most online shops collapse due to quality control failures. A large percentage of them deal in counterfeit products.
The reality is…..
of the hundreds of online shops in Kenya, only a handful actually make reasonable sales.
Of course, the e-commerce market is growing rapidly in Kenya driven by increasing internet penetration and mobile phone usage.
However, if your online shop has to make a successful sale in Kenya, you’re now informed.
Invest your resources in improving your performance in the 5 key areas above.
