Business News
ecommerce in Uganda : The rise of online shopping in Uganda.
Introduction.
What is ecommerce? Basically ecommerce means the sale of goods and services over the internet. It encompasses a wide variety of data,systems and tools for online buyers and sellers, including mobile shopping and online payment encryption.
Factors that have led to the growth of Online shopping in Uganda.
- The covid-19 Pandemic.
The emergence of the covid-19 pandemic at the end of 2019 in the Chinese city of Yuan which eventually spread to almost all parts of the world restricted the movement of people.Most people were restricted to their homes and only essential workers were allowed to go to work.Flights were canceled, Airline companies closed and most of the transport means were grounded, shopping malls and most businesses were closed.
The government put in place lockdowns and curfews which forced all people to stay at their homes in an effort to contain the spread of the CoronaVirus. The situation was tough as movement of goods and services was limited but the people still needed food and other essential goods such as medicine, soaps, sanitary goods and other home must have items.People also needed alcohol to drink and forget about the world’s problems and pass some time.
People resorted to watching TV,Netflix and surfing the internet.As a result, they started using the internet most especially by google searching to find the best deals for goods and services, companies like www.amazon.com and www.jumia.com for the case of Uganda became the go to places to order for your goods of choice.As a result,most businesses were forced to go online to stay in touch with their customers.
Restaurants, shops and all types of businesses had to open ecommerce websites to reach their potential customers from the comfort of their homes.Business owners had to be innovative to survive the pandemic.This has led to the rise of ecommerce websites and delivery services in Uganda among them being www.kampalaarcade.com .
Facebook ads, google ads ,microsoft ads,shopify,Ecuid and Woocommerce platforms have helped a great deal to help the advancement of the online shopping culture.
Even Though most of the effects of the pandemic lockdowns are behind us,the online shopping culture has stuck with the people. Instead of visiting the crowded malls and enduring the unending traffic jams on the Kampala city roads,now people prefer to browse the internet for the goods of their choice and have them delivered to their door steps in the shortest time period possible.
Notable of the new online shops Kampala is www.kampalaarcade.com their business idea is to create an online presence for typical shops found in a Kampala shopping arcade. A Kampala arcade shop owner can approach the management of www.kampalaarcade.com then their catalog of the goods will be uploaded on the website in clear descriptive photos with the prices.
The website owners will market the goods online using digital marketing,google ads and Facebook ads. Once an online purchase is made the website management will notify the shop owner to pack the goods and pass them over to the delivery person. Once the goods are delivered to the customer and payment is received, the shop owner will be liable to pay for the services of www.kampalaarcade.com as per the agreed terms and conditions.
