With the technological innovation of e-commerce otherwise known as online shopping into the Nigerian market some years ago, many Nigerians have naturally embraced it, albeit without diligently studying its pros and cons.
While the concept has made shopping experience earlier for some Nigerians who hardly find time to shop in the open market due to their tight schedules, many have had varied experiences in getting goods and services through the process.
Some unpleasant experiences include falling prey to internet fraudsters, paying for sub-standard goods, getting poor services, delivering to wrong persons and others; a development that has made Nigerians to question the credibility and security of the concept and the need to streamline it for better service to the people.
Online shopping allows consumers shop for a wide range of products and services from the comfort of their homes and offices, saving the time and stress of going to the traditional retail stores with just the click of a button. However, be this as it may, online shopping comes with its inherent risks and dangers as many consumers are finding out. From extremely poor quality of delivered goods, falling victims of online fraudsters to poor customer services, the disadvantages are slowly weighing down the advantages.
Peace (surname withheld) was browsing the Internet sometime ago when she saw an advert from a popular site. Curiously, she clicked on displayed bags. Deciding that the bags looked beautiful, even though they cost more than what she usually goes for, she settles for one “Italian leather” and after placing an order, she was told the bag would be delivered between two to seven working days.
“The bag did not come until after two weeks and I called and called. Just when I was thinking of canceling the order, the bag came. I have never been so disappointed in my life. It was of a very poor quality and looked nothing like what I saw on their site. I immediately returned it to the delivery man and proceeded to cancel my order. Thinking this was a one-off experience, I bought a blender from them a couple of months later. When it was delivered, I made sure to test it bearing in mind my last experience. It worked and I paid for it happily. Lo and behold! when I wanted to use it the next day, it refused to work. After battling with it for several hours, I called to complain. The customer representative was very rude and I didn’t get a replacement until about three weeks. If I had gone to the market to buy my blender, I would have saved myself all that unnecessary trouble. I have decided not to use online shopping at least for now until they improve,” she said.
It is not all doom, however, as some consumers said they have had nothing but good experiences with Nigerian online stores, saying it has become their preferred mode of buying things.
Another online shopper who simply identified herself as Seyi A said: “I’ve had good experiences so far except for one delayed delivery, but it has been a good experience so far and very convenient.”
Recounting her experience, Tolu, a banker with an old generation bank in Lagos said, “I bought a bag once on the site that rhymes with thunder. It was not too expensive and of good quality and they delivered within three working days. I was happy. Fast forward to a year later, I decided to buy another bag and a jacket. The delivery was poor, the jacket was too big and of lower quality than was advertised. The bag was also of very poor quality and way smaller than what was advertised.”
It was a slightly different story for Yomi (surname withheld) who bought a phone from a techsite and was scammed of his money. “I saw this phone advertised and it cost less than what I had been seeing in shops. I contacted them but before doing that, I read reviews and they were positive ones. I was told to pay half of the money first before delivery and the rest after delivery. I was skeptical at first but I went for it to my greatest regret. After waiting and waiting, I contacted the seller and he spoke to me rudely, telling me to be patient, that I would get it soon. After waiting a few days without seeing what I ordered, I tried the number, it was switched off. He blocked me on all social media sites. I chalked it up to experience and told myself, never again.”
Another problem consumers pointed to is price disparity. Sometimes, you think you have got a deal and you find out it was no deal at all, in fact, it was a loss as Adeyinka Adejobi not real names told The Guardian. “ I bought something from one of the foremost sites and the item was the same as seen on their site and I did pick up instead of having it delivered. But I slapped myself for buying from them after I saw the very same item in Balogun for N3,500 after paying N11, 000. I have never been so pained in my life. Having not learnt my lesson still, I bought one fit and trim diet coffee which cost N8, 000 per pack and I bought three packs. Rather than lose weight, I started getting these crazy, blinding headaches. I didn’t lose one kg. When I called to complain, they said sorry and that was that. This was after several days of trying to get in touch with them. I have used a lot of these sites and most of them just use Photoshop to add to the quality of the goods and put them on their sites, thereby misleading many people. I have learnt to be very cautious and buy only things I’m very sure of.”
Temi from Lagos will not be shopping online soon. According to her, she had a bad experience with Internet fraudsters last year when her card details got into the wrong hands and her money was stolen. Deciding to put that behind her, she decided to buy a Blackberry Q10 phone from one of the popular sites “to prevent stories that touch. I charged it for hours and it never worked. I called them and they promised to respond to my complaint after 48 hours. I was held to ransom because I couldn’t communicate with anybody and I bought it as an urgent replacement for my previous phone that was stolen. I sent countless mails of complaint before I was asked to bring the phone to their office. At this point, I was already frustrated and abandoned the whole thing and went to buy a new phone”.
Oloruntobi surname witheld bought an item from a popular site and had to cancel the order. “The quality was terrible, thank God I hadn’t paid for it yet.” The recurring theme for most respondents with bad experiences with online shopping go between two points: quality of the goods and customer service when trying to return or complain about faulty items. Teniola Adeniji, a consumer and marketing expert posits that most of the goods seen online are usually made to look more attractive than they really are to stimulate and attract buyers to them and it is left to buyers to discern whether the goods are really what they are. “A lot of people have fallen victims to online fraudsters and I would advise that before entering your credit card, ensure that the site is very secure.”
Bidemi is not ready to write online shopping off yet as she believes it would get better over time despite the fact that she hasn’t been so lucky with them. “I bought an airconditioner and what was delivered was not what I ordered. The air conditioner had issues and their customer service after was terrible but thankfully, I was able to get it replaced 10 days later.” Mary told The Guardian, “Run away from all those Instagram and online boutiques. They are the worst, I promise you. I have not met anyone that has a good experience with them, they are all scammers.
Apart from the fact that they charge outrageously, they will never deliver what you ask for and returning the item is always almost impossible. I saw a gown on one of these popular designers’ site and I fell in love and ordered it. I went in for measurements and was told I would get it in a week. When the gown came, I wept like a baby. It was the most awful thing I ever saw and when I called her to register my displeasure, she became annoyed, saying I got what I requested for.
I asked for my money back and she said goods received in good condition couldn’t be returned. It was when I started dragging with her on social media that I discovered that I wasn’t the only one she had cheated. I will never do such a thing again. I will buy only what I can see physically.”
http://guardian.ng/saturday-magazine/online-shopping-nigerians-relieve-mixed-experiences/
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