CEM REPORT | With the proliferation of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), the battle to make sales is constantly on the rise. Exposure to target audience has become increasingly difficult with many social media advertising running the place. Many digital SMEs with no physical locations are getting squeezed out of the market by the bigger companies who can place themselves in the right space.
The challenge is taking SMEs owners back to the drawing board while others are going out of the market.
In Nigeria, where trust is a major issue with online business, many SMEs have been forced to think out of the box for strategies to assure potential clients of the quality of their product but most especially genuineness of their business. While this is a challenge, some have solved it, many are yet to close that line.
According to Statista, Nigeria presents a vast digital audience and mobile devices are more frequently used to access the internet than desktop devices. In 2019, over 70 percent of internet usage was recorded on mobile devices, interestingly, higher figures were recorded for online market visits.
What this means is that, taking your business online is a must and for online business Startups staying online is still your best bet.
E-commerce platforms is increasingly becoming popular. Theses platforms have what most Digital SMEs need; exposure, trust and logistics.
A more preferred way to get that desired exposure for your business will be to place your products on these already established e-commerce site.
The benefits are endless but some include :
- These e-commerce sites become a verified shop where you can direct clients to gain their trust.
- Your products and especially brand name get a level of exposure.
- You enjoy a level of fair competition amongst other brands in your space.
- Making sales, some of these e-commerce sites provide delivery logistics.
- You enjoy online and offline advertising of your products on a different level.
- You also get paid directly to your account once there is a purchase.
Being affiliated to an e-commerce website will definitely benefits your growing business.
We have put together a list of e-commerce websites that allows owners place business on their platform at no extra cost.
Scrader
Scrader has a combination of social media and e-commerce features and also works as an escrow. Like every e-commerce site you can upload your items and sell them online.
Registration as a seller is completely free on Scrader. There are no monthly charges whatsoever. For every sale you make, you won’t need to pay any commission fee.
However, Scrader will charge an escrow fee of 1% per sale. This escrow fee will be paid by the customer, and not by the seller.
To start selling on Scrader;
- Visit Scrader main page
- Sign up for an account.
- Register as a seller and fill in the necessary details.
- Set your logistics preferences. This is where you will select your preferred delivery options.
- Input the products you want to sell. You should enter not less than 5 products so as to gain visibility.
- Add your prices and you are good to go.
Visit here for full details on how to sell on scrader.
Jiji
Jiji is a fast growing e-commerce website. It keeps pulling traffic especially with it feature that allows exchange of product, hence creating a demand and supply channel.
Jiji, provides a simple hassle-free solution to sell and buy almost anything. Selling on jiji is free. The platform only charges when you use its premium services.
Creating an account and becoming a seller is very simple on Jiji:
- Visit Jiji’s homepage
- Create a Jiji account and upload all necessary details.
- Once your account is verified, input the products you sell.
- Be patient and let the management approve your goods. Each uploaded product has to be verified before it’s posted on the main page.
OList
On OList, you can advertise your products, upload and sell your goods. You can also render services or patronize one. Transactions are very easy on this shopping site.
One striking feature about OList is that despite all its good service and user interface, it’s still free of charge.
To become a seller on OList is easy:
- Visit the website
- Tap the start selling button.
- Register and fill in necessary details.
- Once your account is activated you are good to go.
- Enter your products and add prices.
Jumia
Jumia is an online marketplace for electronics, and fashion, among others targeting several African countries. It is one of the most visited e-commerce websites in Nigeria. Becoming a Jumia vendor is free and you can sell virtually any product on the platform. Jumia cover the delivery of your products.
Jumia will grant you unlimited access to your online store. It serves as a gateway between you and your buyer. Your goods are displayed to numerous users when they search for something related to what you sell.
How to start selling on Jumia
- Sign up as a merchant on the Jumia Marketplace
- Provide the necessary KYC details, including your bank account for payouts.
- Upload clear photos of your products.
Jumia charges you for each sale you get. These charges are mostly determined by the delivery method chosen by your buyer.
Apart from this, Jumia is totally free to use. There are no registration or maintenance fees in Jumia. Also, there is nothing like monthly charges.
Konga
Konga allows small businesses and vendors to sell their products online without delays. You can sell groceries, drinks, gadgets, appliances, domestic products, clothing items, and many more.
Konga has high traffic of buyers. This explains how they get a high amount of buyers and sellers transacting on their website. As a seller, your products will be visible to customers.
Konga is not free to use. To become a seller on Konga, you will have to pay a membership fee.
You can go for the silver plan. It allows the selling of not more than 10 items in 30 days. It costs ₦1,000 per month.
The gold plan allows you to sell as much as you like. You can sell an unlimited number of items in 30 days. The gold plan costs ₦2,500 per month.
Becoming a seller on Konga is very straightforward:
- Sign up as a Konga seller on Konga sellerHQ.
- Complete the seller form.
- Upload clear photos of your products.
- Choose a convenient delivery method for paid orders. You can manage your items through your dashboard.
Kusnap
Kusnap is an easy-to-use platform connecting millions of buyers and sellers nationwide completely free of charge. It employs a simple approach of snap-to-sell and chat-to-buy with a fantastic user experience, thereby transcending trading borders.
Kusnap is committed to ensuring that individuals, retailers, and wholesalers come together for a common business purpose by integrating into the marketplace a variety of features such as groups and the ability to list multiple products across varying categories.
Conclusively, having your business on any of these e-commerce websites increases your chances of exposure and growth.
Please contact us on any issue you might encounter with any of these sites and also leave us a comment.
