Online shopping mall, Jumia Nigeria, on Thursday said that Nigeria was fast becoming a mobile-first country with 162 million subscribers and a penetration rate of 84 percent.
The Chief Executive Officer of Jumia Nigeria, Mrs. Juliet Anammah, made the assessment at the 2018 Mobile Report Launch.
“The availability of lower price point phones has paved way for more Nigerians to own mobile phones. “With an increase in the number of affordable phones entering Nigerian market, and looking at the trajectory growth between 2016 and 2017, there is a strong indication that by the end of 2018, we will have 100 percent mobile penetration,’’ she said. Anammah said that Nigeria remained Africa’s largest mobile market with about 162 million subscribers and a penetration rate of 84 percent.
The report said, “Nigeria’s mobile penetration in 2016 stood at 53 percent”. In spite of challenges, Nigeria’s mobile economy contributes 9.5 percent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) worth N29.5 trillion in economic value, the CEO pointed out, “Even with the unstable economic climate, mobile and telecommunication sector’s contributions to the GDP remains strong,” she added.
Anammah said that with internet connectivity still on the rise in Nigeria and across Africa, there were 98 million users of the internet and 21 million users of smartphones in Nigeria. Mr. Olubayo Adekambi, the Chief Transformation Officer, MTN Nigeria, said that the preponderance of low-cost smartphones and the drive toward aspirational self-enhancement and exciting mobile operator-led propositions drove smartphone penetration.
Africa boasts of a mobile subscription base of 1.04 billion, representing 82% of its total population. The mobile economy currently contributes 7.7% to the African GDP, worth 110 billion USD in economic value.
Out of the 162 million mobile subscribers in 2017 in Nigeria, only 21 million of them are smartphone users, and only 17 million smartphone users are active on social media via their mobile phones. This new figure for active mobile social media users doesn’t capture the number of active desktops social media users (those that use their desktop computer, laptop or tablet to access social media).
Infinix is Africa’s top smartphone brand across Jumia’s 15 markets.
“The penetration has increased with first-timers finding a compelling reason to pick up low-priced smartphones or secondhand smartphones. “Peer-to-peer mobile video sharing and over-the-top video platforms drove incremental increases in internet usage, with the so-called illiterates joining the bandwagon to enjoy their latest comedy on the go.
“This mobile trend is shifting advertising focus from traditional TV to short videos shown as branded content with subtle product placement.
Cash on delivery still appears to be the most preferred method of payment at 67%. 23% of our customers paid with their credit or debit card; while 10% used mobile payment options.
The reason pay on delivery or cash on delivery has become the most preferred method of payment is because it enables buyers to examine the item they receive before paying for it. If the item is good, the customer pays for it. If the item is not the same thing seen on the website, the customer can reject the item on delivery.
It is not surprising that there was more male than female mobile phone shoppers in 2017. In many low and middle-income markets like Nigeria & Africa, male mobile ownership is approaching saturation, particularly in urban areas. This means that women represent the vast majority of the untapped mobile market.
Even among mobile owners, there is a gender gap in usage that widens for more transformational, typically higher revenue services, especially the mobile internet. There is a commercial opportunity for closing the gender gap. The mobile phones category still remains the highest selling category on Jumia.
