The Largest (by visits) Ecommerce Sites in Africa, and Amazon’s Plans to Open in Nigeria as well as SA in 2023

According to AppsFlyer, ecommerce in Africa witnessed immense growth in 2021. There was a 55% increase in online retail spending, and the volume of downloads and installation of ecommerce apps on Android and iOS also grew, standing at 55% and 32%, respectively. The top ecommerce platforms based on their monthly website traffic as tracked by Statista in 2021 were:

1. Jumia: (Nigeria) Jumia’s average monthly website traffic is 32 m.
2. Takealot: (SA) Takealot’s average monthly website traffic is 10 m.
3. SOUQ: This Amazon subsidiary is headquartered in the UAE where it serves some parts of the Middle East and North Africa. It records an average monthly pageview of 10 m.
4. Konga: (Nigeria) Konga’s average monthly site views are 3 m.
5. bidorbuy: (SA) bidorbuy’s average monthly pageview is 1.5 m.
6. Kilimall: (Kenya) Kilimall’s average monthly site visit is 500, 000.

Meanwhile, Amazon is planning to disrupt the ecommerce markets in both SA and Nigeria in early 2023. When it launches, Amazon will compete with Takealot in SA, and Konga and Jumia, the 2 dominant players in the Nigerian ecommerce space. According to a report by Business Insider, in 2023 Amazon will be expanding to 5 countries in Africa, Europe, and South America – Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Nigeria, and SA. Amazon, which currently runs in 20 different countries, is investing in long-term growth while it scales up its US-based outlets. The report says this could result in more competition for local ecommerce companies which operate across Africa, and Mercado Libre, a leading online marketplace in Latin America. As we reported in the July Newsletter, Takealot has been instructed to take action to reduce its alleged anti-competitive behavior in SA by the Competition Commission, which will assist Amazon’s launch in SA against the weakened national leader.