Africa Went Digital... The unique Journey

The Impact of the Internet on African Consumers

- Wednesday, November 01, 2023

The Impact of the Internet on African Consumers

The Internet was designed to deliver convenience, quickness, and power—power to know everything, power to connect with favorite brands, power to buy and sell online. And Africa is no exception. Entrepreneurs across the continent began embracing the power of the internet and setting up their online stories. Then, COVID-19 hit, and everything changed.

Rethinking Shopping Habits

Let’s discuss how African consumers rethink their shopping habits. As a marketer, the best way to maximize the return on investment of media spending is to truly understand consumer behavior. Considering such tendencies may be a turning point for whether you are able to achieve long-term success or not.

African Online Consumer Behavior

Offline or online shopping? Africans choose both options. With the growth in internet penetration and technology adoption, Africans are gradually embracing internet technology and online shopping. This process has grown since the pandemic hit and forced users to rethink their shopping habits. The internet offers a safe and convenient way to purchase items without leaving the comfort of home, so in Africa, just like everywhere else, users have come to choose online more often. Based on research, the number of online shoppers will increase by 40.19% by 2027.

Source: Statista

However, offline shopping still remains popular across many African countries. African users often choose and prefer in-store shopping (mainly, corner-shop or dukas) where they can see, touch, and examine items before making a purchase. Also, it may be related to limited access to the internet, the importance of personal relationships in African culture and, what’s more important, affordability.

For instance, Kenyans may purchase products in any of the Naivas or Quickmart supermarkets in Nairobi or one of the malls in the city. However, many consumers in Kenya can’t afford to do that as the goods there are expensive and malls are too few — the largest of Kenya’s supermarket chain Naivas, for example, has only 84 shops throughout the entire country. So it’s much easier to purchase necessary goods that are cheaper in street shops in the nearest corner with no travel expenses, and Kenyans just do it.

Online Research and Social Media

Although Africans shop both online and offline, researching online has picked up across Africa. Moreover, first discovery via internet touchpoints is a key trend in the region and the main step of upper-funnel discovery and awareness in customer journeys. Consumers across the region are thoroughly researching products online, and for many, social media and search engines are the main sources of brand research.

Source: DataReportal

Social networks are one of the main drivers of customer behavior. Social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, play a significant role in Africa’s customers’ daily life — they rely on social media to discover new brands, read reviews, follow influencers, and make purchase decisions. According to DataReportal, users use social media not only to keep in touch with friends and family but also to find new brands and products. Reasons may be different from town to town but generally they have one common characteristic — they drive customer behavior. So, it’s important to consider.

Diverse Consumer Groups

When it comes to online shopping, younger generations are not the only ones active in the digital world. While Zoomers are the biggest generation in the world, Africa isn’t an exception. However, it's important not to overlook older generations. For instance, Kenyans aged 55 and up are more likely to shop online, with 41% of users in this age group having made purchases online, compared to 30% of Zoomers and Millennials.

Price is a crucial factor influencing consumer behavior. Many Africans are price sensitive across different product categories. This often leads to choosing more affordable products but still seeking quality products at the same time. At the same time, consumers want more flexibility in how they shop. In South Africa, in-store shoppers try to avoid long queues (50% of in-store shoppers) and stock shortages (28% of in-store shoppers) as one of the main pain points.

Strategies to Reach African Consumers Efficiently

Try to build long term relationships: Comprehensive ad strategies should lead users from awareness to the “embedded” stage, building emotional connections powered by personalization and inspiration to action.

Provide personalized experience: Personalization is key to connecting with the audience. Brands may use dynamic creative optimization to provide relevant messages to the target audience.

Run, test, analyze, improve: Understand consumer behavior through real ad campaign data. Testing and analyzing different components of the ad campaign can help in adjusting strategies for better results.

Run advertising on social media: Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok offer various ad formats to engage users. Social media campaigns can increase engagement, awareness, and revenue.

Implement DOOH ad into your strategy: Digital out-of-home advertising (DOOH) in public places can drive brand awareness and increase conversions, especially near places where users may buy products.

Utilize Programmatic advertising: Programmatic advertising based on AI & ML algorithms can show relevant advertisements to the target audience, simplifying the advertising process.

African consumers are gradually going digital, and brands need to consider this trend in their advertising strategies. Understanding the diverse consumer groups and tailoring strategies accordingly can lead to successful outcomes in the African market.

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