By Raheem Akingbolu
To attend to the need of about 91 percent of Nigeria consumers, who buy prefer offline shopping, adiba.com, has inaugurated a store with the promise that more will follow this year. According to the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Chris Udeji, despite the growing population of online shoppers across the country, only 9per cent of the shopping class in Nigeria order for goods online.
Speaking at the inauguration of the store in Lekki, Lagos, Udeji said access to internet on mobile has created massive awareness for consumers, adding that players have taken advantage of this platform to launch out several platforms to sell to Nigerians and other shoppers.
Shedding light on while adiba decided to set up physical stores, the CEO said it was done to create convenience for customers, stating that despite the fact that the future of shopping is online, most Nigerians still prefer to touch and feel their goods before the purchase them.
He said: “We found out that a lot of people have no facility to shop online. Only 9per cent of Nigerians are really shopping online. As a result, you cannot rule out the traditional shoppers and that is why we are giving our online shopping customers the opportunity to interface and know where Adiba.com comes from.
“Since online really do not address the issue of customer complaints, Adiba.com has provided a channel. Customers on our platform can now lodge their complaints in whatever form at the physical stores, which would be extended to Ikorodu and Ikeja, while Lekki store will serve as the pilot outlet. If a customer shop at our platform online and he or she is dissatisfied, such customer con visit any of our stores and complaints and his or her challenge will be addressed appropriately,”.
He said offline stores will be used as collection centres for the customers in those locations where stores will be located. For instance, the CEO stated that a customer who lives in Ikorodu but works on the island does not need to shop on the island.
On further expansion on both online and offline, the eCommerce expert explained that the business particularly would be looking on how to expand out of Lagos since the online is global. He added that as the revitalisation is going online, the offline platform would equally experience the same structure.
“It has becomes very certain that we will expand. We will be looking to expand out of Lagos to other states as the request is made. The customers are the king here. They will dictate the pace of our expansion. And we have come to discover that it is important that there is need for a reconciliation centre in retails.”
