Ecommerce Turnover in Kenya

The Research body, Kasi Insights, has issued its Brand Intelligence Tracker from 2021 which looks at how COVID affected the take-up of ecommerce in Kenya according to the report, ecommerce is growing in Kenya with estimated revenue for 2022 expected to reach $3,562m. Current user penetration is estimated at around 40.3%, but by 2025 this number is set to grow to 53.6%. The definition of ecommerce used in the report spans everything from a middle-class Kenya with a credit card ordering online with Jumia to a less well-off Kenya using his or her mobile to connect with a seller on Facebook Marketplace. In June 2021, consumers were asked what their favorite or most used platform for ecommerce was. Jumia came out on top, followed by OLX (owned by Naspers). Facebook Marketplace was the least popular.

The report found that 56% of the respondents reported that online purchases are the second activity on their smartphones after mobile money services. Over half of the respondents use their smartphones for online shopping as opposed to instant messaging (49%) and entertainment (42%). This was the case across genders and age groups; with only a 3% difference being recorded for online purchases between males and females, while the top 3 activities remained the same across the board amongst different age groups (Baby boomers, Gen X, etc.). Respondents stressed the importance of quality and pricing when shopping online. 53% of respondents ranked quality as their top consideration when purchasing online, while 45% ranked price as their second most important consideration.