by Bedah Mengo
Whenever Kenyan accountant Beatrice Musau wants to buy something these days, her first choice is usually one of the many online shopping sites. 
Musau usually first take a look at the sites that have been on the rise in recent years, then compare the prices of the items before settling on one that she thinks is the best.
She has bought several products through the sites, from household items to clothes and shoes. Her latest purchase, two days ago, was a pair of shoes that cost 22 U.S. dollars.
“It is about one year since I started shopping online and I do not think I will stop soon. At first I did not trust the sites but as every time I successfully purchased an item, my confidence grew, ” she said, noting that in many cases she pays on delivery.
The growing confidence in online shopping in Kenya has not only led to a rise in online shops but also sales for the merchants.
“There is good business online if our massive rate of growth is an attestation to that. Kenyans are increasingly gaining confidence in online shopping,” said Kariuki Maina, marketing director with Kilimall, Kenya’s first online shopping mall.
Kariuki isolated infrastructural development in telecommunication, good bargains and the availability of easy payment options, like mobile money, have made Kenyan citizens get confident in e-commerce.
In the past few months since Kilimall has been in operation, Kariuki noted its merchants’ sales have been growing fast, making the mall the second highest ranked online shopping player in Kenya.
“This is not a performance to brush off as it points to growing confidence in online shopping. We attribute soaring e-commerce business for our merchants to the infrastructure and sufficient skills they have. Easy operation of our services is an added advantage,” said Collins Okach, Kilimall’s Platform and IT Director.
Kilimall offers businesses free space to open online shops with a wide variety of local and imported products. With increased sales, Okach said they have envisioned to empower millions of Kenyans with high quality and affordable products and services, support 100,000 businesses through their infrastructure and create half a million jobs.
Parinaz Firozi, the managing director for Jumia Kenya, another online shop, said Kenyans’ confidence in online shopping has grown.
“Kenyans’ trust in online shopping has risen significantly. There was fear at first due to increased fraud, but payment options like cash on delivery and mobile money have helped make people know they are not getting conne,” said Firozi.
The confidence in online shopping, however, is not only with Nairobi residents as citizens in other parts of the country including Eldoret, Kakamega, Nakuru and Bungoma are also buying goods through the internet. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
