A new Research and Markets report, published 8 October, projects that Africa’s e-commerce market will pass $1 trillion by 2033. The drivers it names are mobile first shopping and the growth of fintech.
Treat any ten year forecast with care. These reports are built on assumptions, and a lot can change between now and 2033. Still, the direction matches what anyone in the business can see. More people shop on their phones every year, and paying online is easier than it was even three years ago.
The payments point matters most. For years, the biggest barrier to online shopping in Africa wasn’t interest, it was trust and payment. Cash on delivery papered over the gap, but it’s expensive and slow. Mobile money, instant bank transfers and wallets have changed that, which is why the forecast leans so heavily on fintech.
For brands, a trillion dollar headline is less useful than one question: are you easy to buy from on a phone? That means a site that loads fast on a mid range Android, checkout that takes M-Pesa or a bank transfer, and customer service on WhatsApp. Most African businesses still fail at least one of those.
Source: GlobeNewswire
