Brick And Mortar Or Ecommerce In Nigeria?

"Brick and Mortar or Ecommerce in Nigeria?"

I’ve spent most of my entrepreneurship efforts focused on fashion retail. And one question that entrepreneurs ask me and indeed I often grapple with myself is ‘should I open up a physical store’? This is a challenging question to deal with in Nigeria because of the country’s peculiar problems like diesel costs, logistic nightmares, etc. You name it! Whether you choose Brick or Mortar or ecommerce, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. This is how I usually think about the problem… Pros of Brick and Mortar Experience creation for customers Easier to create a trusting relationship Quicker gratification for Customers Cons of Brick and Mortar LARGE overhead costs (rent, utilities, etc) Pros of Ecommerce No overhead costs (rent, utilities, etc) Easier for customers Lower capital barrier to entry Cons of Ecommerce Fighting 419 gap: Nigerians are fundamentally distrusting of anything that doesn’t involve instant gratification Logistic Nightmares: Dealing with Cash In addition to breaking down the pros and cons, I also look around the industry to see what others are doing. What is clear now is that the problem is no longer binary. In other words, the Modern Shopper craves both the convenience of ecommerce and the touch-and-feel aspect of retail stores. That is why an online tech giant like Amazon seems to be reverse integrating with the purchase of brick and mortar store, Whole Foods. This is the way forward I believe. Of course until you can afford a full-scale brick and mortar, there are leaner ways to occupy both spaces – taking advantage of pop-up stores and periodical marketplaces. With the success of these kinds of experiences, it’s certainly easier for entrepreneurs to have a physical presence and an online presence.

Wonuola Okoye

Principal Coach

Big Startup