Saving costs: Shopping malls go empty as shoppers adopt free delivery options
For shop owners who strictly rely on the number of shoppers who patronise them physically, it could be a bleak Christmas season.
This is because the biting economy has made online shopping an attractive option.
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Nothing could have made it more attractive than the option of free delivery and payment on delivery service packages.
So, it was not surprising when a trip to popular markets Idumota, Oshodi, Mandilas, Balogun among others in Lagos metropolis showed scanty human traffic as against what it used to be in a few years past.
Today, the hustling and bustling of these market places have died down.
However, smart shop owners have moved their wares on-line, where the traffic is.
They have flooded various social media handles to advertise their goods and announce attractive end of year promotions with discounts on prices and gift items, to woo customers.
Economy&Lifestyle discovered that items such as wigs, hair extensions, clothes, shoes, handbags and jewelry especially for women and children dominated such sales.
Further investigations revealed that apart from discounts and gift items, shop owners offer free delivery or where the delivery comes with a small cost, it’s also cheaper than going to the physical markets.
Mrs. Chidiebere Apata, a wholesale merchant of women’s wears, said: “There is serious competition going on, on various social media platforms presently.
“Many people are trying to sell off whatever they have in store before the year ends. Ordinarily, you know that by this time, traders are already looking forward to new year sales.
“But when I saw that people are no longer coming to shop due to high cost of transportation and low income, I decided to see a web designer who assisted me to create an e-commerce website and also helped me with promotions online.
“Still, it is only a few individual buyers that order. Most of the buyers are retailers who in turn sell online too or in physical shops.
“Business this year is not profitable at all. One just needs to be in business for survival.”
Mrs. Adedoyin Hamzat, a retail children’s wear seller , said: “Many of us have gone out of business due to the inability of people to buy clothes especially during festive seasons.
“Many sellers are now into food business which, according to them, is the most sought-after need of humans in this present economic condition we find ourselves in.
“In the past, during the Yuletide season, I made over N5 million to N8 million weekly sales but now, it is hard to make such.
“That is why I now advertise my goods online and offer free delivery within Lagos alone, and restricted to areas near me. A fee is attached to areas like Ikorodu, Epe and other states.
“It has helped my business a lot.
“One needs to act fast in taking drastic measures to boost sales in business at the same time satisfying customers’ needs in this economy .”
This time last year, few traders cared about social media advertising but like the saying goes, spectators move according to the movement of the masquerade.
Mrs. Daramola Johnson, a hair extension and wig seller , highlighted lack of trust and fraud as part of the problems traders who use social media to sell their goods and services face.
“I had to quit going to shop recently when there was no sales and bills were piling up.
“Knowing that my rent expires next January, I had to double my hustle by opening a website online and advertising my products using various social media handles.
“It helped me a lot and made me realize that the cost of transportation is making many people sit at home.
“But despite these changes, I encountered challenges like trust issues of customers paying and not receiving their goods and also fraudsters hijacking your page and using it to their own advantage of defrauding customers.
“These are challenges we are facing with trading on-line.
“Also many of my customers are resellers which has also pointed out the effect of the high cost of living on many Nigerians.
“Only God can save us from this ordeal.”
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Consumers Expectation Survey Report for October, many households do not intend to buy expensive items this month and in coming months.
On planned expenditure outlook, the report stated: “Households anticipate spending their income on basic expenditure items like food and other household items, such as education, transportation, electricity and medical expenses across periods reviewed.”
The report further stated that the Buying Condition Index1 for big ticket items like consumer durables, motor vehicles and buildings and landed properties, indicated that most respondents consider the current month unfavourable for purchasing these items.
“Consumers also do not think that the next three and six months are ideal periods to buy these items,” it added.
