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Online Shoppers: How To Ensure You Fill Your Carts with Genuine & Quality Products

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By Adeniyi Ogunfowoke,

On a daily basis across the world, online shoppers fill their shopping carts with tons of thousands of products such as groceries, electronics, health & beauty, gaming, phones and tablets. The quality of products purchased online has always been a point of debate among shoppers, especially since the products can’t be inspected before purchase. The trend is the same in Nigeria, even though the country’s ecommerce sector is just 7 years old.

One of the fundamental methods for helping customers make the right choice when shopping online is ‘ratings and reviews’. Ecommerce companies such as Jumia have made a provision on their platforms for customers to rate and review the quality of products purchased on its jumia.com.ng platform.

Product ratings and reviews have become an essential part of eCommerce businesses because they enable customers to rate/review products or services purchased online. These companies do not do this for fun. They understand that product ratings/reviews have a huge role to play when it comes to driving sales, generating leads and attracting customers to their website.

From gaining local organic search rankings to becoming word-of-mouth, online reviews help reinforce your brand and reputation. If you are rarely mentioned anywhere on the web, how will it influence your customers?

The fact is so many consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations and this is where brands like Jumia, Nigeria’s no 1 shopping destination is different from others. The platformhas a rating guide because quality is part of its fundamental values. More so, it allows customers to leave feedback about their service and products which increases their “mentions”, ultimately leading to more exposure and driving more traffic.

There’s no denying the fact that online reviews are very significant today, and not just that, they are part of most marketing campaigns today so that they can create a big impact in the industry and break sales.

Reasons why reviews/ratings are important to your business

Increase sales

People tend to read online reviews and trust them as much as they are recommended by their friends or families. A significant number of people consider online reviews while choosing a product or service of their need. So, if the particular product review is good, there is a good chance that you will purchase that product and vice versa. This will automatically increase sales.

Better local search rankings

Customer reviews play a crucial role today for organic search rankings in search engines. In fact, enabling customer reviews will add credibility to your company while new reviews are also going to add more unique content to your site. The increased amount of content that is relevant and unique will add a better chance to get ranked on search engines while the pages are also frequently crawled by search engine bots compared to others. All in all, reviews are very important to improve search visibility and drive more traffic to the site through search engines today.

Improved communication and customer service

Analysing the reviews people leave for you – both good and bad – helps keep your ear to the ground with regards to overall customer satisfaction and public opinion. Online reviews help give a voice to both happy and unhappy customers and allow you to open up a public channel of conversation, letting you demonstrate your customer service skills. Online reviews can also give you valuable feedback with regards to what your clients actually want. Reviews provide insight into how your average consumer thinks about your service or industry, rather than what you think about what you offer.

Added marketing opportunities

Online reviews are surely worth the deal and they offer a plethora of benefits to your business that most marketing campaigns fail to do. In fact, online reviews act as micro-marketing campaigns that provide a positive benefit to your potential customers, now and in the long run. Having online reviews already is also going to encourage new customers to voice their opinion and leave their own feedback.

Do product reviews/ratings actually influence online purchasing decisions?

If you describe reviews/ratings/testimonials as the word-of-mouth of online shopping, you won’t be wrong. This is as earlier stated, a lot of customers read these reviews before deciding whether they should buy a product or not. This is even more important due to the prevalence of fake products on some online platforms despite painstaking efforts and stringent penalties to put them at bay.

So, if the review of a particular product is positive and is rated 5-star, your customers will be more inclined to buy that product and if there are so many bad reviews, note that they will steer clear.

However, know that in some cases, it does not necessarily mean that the product is bad. A bad review may be as a result of poor customer service, payment challenges and others. This is systemic. Your customers are informing you to make their purchase seamless. Overall, for you to get favourable reviews, simply offer quality products and services as well as a good customer service and you will observe the positive impact it will have on your reviews.


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Ugo Onwuaso is an ICT enthusiast. He believes technology should be used for general good. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Lagos state University. Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

E-Business

Jumia Replatforms its Retail Media Program to Mirakl Ads to Enhance Marketplace Advertising

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Jumia, e-Commerce platform in Africa, has partnered with Mirakl to elevate its marketplace advertising capabilities by deploying Mirakl Ads, a retail media solution uniquely designed to optimize performance for both first-party and third-party sellers.

This move strengthens Jumia’s efforts to deliver more value to its sellers, enhance the customer experience, and unlock profitable and sustainable new sources of revenue. Retail media is a rapidly growing sector within the e-commerce industry, expected to reach $204 billion by 2027 with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.2%.

Jumia’s adoption of Mirakl Ads positions the company at the forefront of digital advertising innovation in Africa, unlocking significant opportunities to increase revenue generation. With growing usage across its platform, Jumia is well-placed to capitalize on this momentum by delivering improved advertising tools to sellers and more relevant, personalized product recommendations to customers.

“Advertising is a key growth lever in our marketplace strategy, and this partnership with Mirakl allows us to accelerate that journey with speed and scale.

“By integrating Mirakl Ads, we’re empowering our sellers with smarter tools and delivering a better, more personalized experience to our customers. It also positions us to unlock new revenue streams while deepening engagement across our platform. Importantly, this partnership supports our ambition to grow gross profit and accelerate our path to profitability,” said Francis Dufay, CEO of Jumia.

The collaboration is a testament to Mirakl’s ability to rapidly deploy enterprise-grade solutions, with Jumia launching Mirakl Ads in just two months. This showcases the platform’s ease of integration and fast time-to-value. Now live, the solution equips Jumia’s advertising ecosystem with advanced automation, AI-powered optimization, and seamless campaign          management.

With Mirakl Ads, all advertisers – from the biggest brands to the smallest marketplace sellers – can now boost their sales by leveraging advertising campaigns in Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Ivory Coast.

“Jumia’s decision to replatform to Mirakl Ads is a powerful validation of our platform’s ability to deliver immediate and measurable impact for leading marketplaces. By combining Mirakl’s cutting-edge retail media technology with Jumia’s deep market reach, we are enabling sellers to grow faster and customers to benefit from a more relevant, engaging experience. This partnership is a true milestone, not only for Jumia and Mirakl, but for the future of digital commerce across Africa.” said Adrien Nussenbaum, cofounder and co-CEO of Mirakl.

Through this partnership, Jumia is taking a decisive step in accelerating monetization, improving customer engagement, and advancing its long-term financial performance and profitability.


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E-Business

Galaxy Backbone, Rural Electrification Agency Commit to Deepening Digital and Energy Access Across Nigeria

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In a major step towards deepening Nigeria’s digital and energy infrastructure, Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at a brief but impactful ceremony held in Abuja.

The MoU signals a collaborative effort between both agencies to enhance Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda by integrating reliable energy solutions with cutting-edge ICT infrastructure, especially in higher institutions, Government institutions, underserved and rural communities across the country.

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone, Professor Ibrahim A. Adeyanju, described the partnership as “a landmark moment in Nigeria’s journey towards a digitally empowered, sustainably powered, and inclusively connected nation.”

“This partnership exemplifies what is possible when two visionary government institutions come together, united by shared goals and driven by the desire to improve the lives of Nigerians everywhere,” he said.

Professor Adeyanju emphasized that while Galaxy Backbone’s core mandate is to provide secure digital infrastructure that powers government operations, reliable and sustainable energy particularly in rural areas is essential to fully actualize digital transformation.

Major highlights of the MoU include:

  • Solar electrification of some of GBB’s Metro Fibre sites in Abuja by the REA.
  • Powering Hostels of Higher Institutions across the country through the Fibre to Hostel Project being driven by the Federal Ministry of Communications Innovation and Digital Economy (FMCIDE).
  • Support for the rollout of the 774 Local Government Digitization Initiative, beginning with six pilot Local Government Areas.
  • Provision of LANs, access points, cloud services, colocation infrastructure, and temporary connectivity to enhance REA’s operational facilities nationwide.

The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency Mr Abba Aliyu, in his remarks, expressed optimism that this collaboration will further bridge the digital and energy divide across Nigeria. He noted that by combining REA’s achievements in expanding energy access with GBB’s robust ICT backbone, both agencies are poised to create lasting impact across governance, education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship.

This partnership is also in direct alignment with the Renewed Hope Digital Transformation Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, which envisions an inclusive digital economy powered by innovation and sustainable energy.

The ceremony was attended by top management from both organizations as well as members of the media.

With today’s signing, Galaxy Backbone and the Rural Electrification Agency have set the tone for stronger, smarter, and more inclusive public service delivery powered by strategic inter-agency collaboration.


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E-Business

NIMC Says NIN Services Back Online

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National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced the restoration of its National Identification Number (NIN) verification services nationwide.

NIMC Says NIN Services Back Online

This, according to the commission, follows the completion of a system maintenance exercise.

In a statement issued on Friday, the NIMC confirmed that all previously disrupted services have resumed.

“NIMC wishes to inform the general public that the recent technical maintenance has been completed and all services have been restored,” the statement read.

The NIMC urged Nigerians seeking to enroll for NIN to visit the its official website to locate the nearest enrollment centers.

The agency also encouraged individuals to make use of its self-service portal for tasks such as data modification, including name changes.

To further ease the verification process, the Commission recommended downloading the NIMC NameAuth app (oath.app) from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store for quick and secure NIN authentication.

NIMC expressed appreciation for the public’s patience during the service disruption, which had impacted banks, telecom providers, and government agencies that rely on NIN verification for their operations.

 


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