E-Business
Why eCommerce Remains Largely Traditional in Nigeria

Despite the growing appeal of e-commerce, available data shows that the shopping behavior of majority of Nigerians is still largely traditional – with many preferring to see, touch or experience the product in action before making the buying decision.
In this piece, Yudala – Nigeria’s leading online and offline retail chain – dissects the e-commerce revolution and why most Nigerians remain slow in changing their traditional shopping habits.
E-commerce has become a thriving global industry. A recent report released by the Oxford Business Group revealed that retail sales hit a whopping $22b figure globally in 2016, with online shopping figures accounting for a major part of this outlay.
In advanced climes where access to the internet and of course, literacy levels stand at appreciable levels, e-commerce has become a lifestyle for many.
Interestingly, global retail sales, of which e-commerce makes up a major part, is projected to rise further to an estimated 27 trillion dollars by 2020.
Nigeria has also been bitten by the e-commerce bug. This has been made possible by the proliferation of online stores all competing for the attention of shoppers, many of whom are eager to jump on the ease and convenience of the e-commerce train.
Nevertheless, e-commerce is still at the rudimentary stage in Nigeria as the pace of adoption and acceptance is decidedly slow.
Despite the huge strides recorded in the Nigerian e-commerce landscape – especially with the massive awareness for globally celebrated shopping festivals such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, among others – the average Nigerian is still an unrepentant traditional shopper.
In spite of the massive hype and growing status of e-commerce in Nigeria, you are better off convincing the average Nigerian to make the final buying decision when you can provide him or her with an opportunity to ‘experience’ the product before parting with hard-earned money.
This often involves visiting a physical or brick-and-mortar store location to interact with sales attendants and getting a chance to see a demonstration of the item before the sale is closed.
This traditional shopping behaviour goes a long way to justify the unique Yudala model of combining an online store with physical offline stores located nationwide. Cases abound of most walk-in customers actually admitting to having checked out a particular product online but still preferred to physically visit the store to see the product before purchase.
A few factors are responsible for this largely traditional approach to the e-commerce revolution in Nigeria:
Trust remains a major issue: Many Nigerians live in constant dread of online fraud and will do anything to avoid using their debit card to process payments electronically.
According to data from the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) the year 2014 saw 1,461 reported cases of electronic or e-fraud, with actual losses grossing N6.216 billion.
In 2015, about 946 attempted e-fraud cases were also recorded by banks, Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) and Mobile Payment Operators (MPOs), resulting in an estimated loss of N5 billion.
Recently, the Hon. Minister of Communications, Barr. Adebayo Shittu indicated that about N78 billion is lost yearly in Nigeria to all forms of cybercriminal activities. This reality has stunted the growth of e-commerce in Nigeria.
Internet access is elusive for many: It is an open secret that e-commerce is driven by access to the internet. However, internet access for many in this part of the world is an expensive venture. Worse still, the number of internet users seems to be declining.
Going by the most recent statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the number of internet subscribers in Nigeria’s telecommunications networks declined to 91, 274,446 in January 2017.
According to the figures released, internet users dropped to 91,274,446 in January as against 91,880.032 users recorded in December 2016, showing a decline of 605,586.
This is one of the major reasons why the average shopper remains seemingly stuck in his largely traditional shopping ways.
Unsavoury experiences from delivered orders: The e-commerce experience in Nigeria has been stalled by the action of some online retailers who end up disappointing the customer with the delivery of items different or inferior in quality from the one seen or ordered online.
In such a case, the customer has to bear the inconvenience of having to either navigate the thorny process of seeking a refund or waiting an extra lengthy number of days to get the right item. This is why ensuring that “What you see is what you get” remains a unique selling point in the e-commerce market.
Millions remain underserved or unreached in the hinterlands: A recent report revealed that the Nigerian e-commerce industry recorded a handsome $1.9b figure in 2016 and the figure is expected to reach an estimated $3.9b in 2020.
However, e-commerce in Nigeria remains a predominantly urban phenomenon. For many in the hinterlands and rural communities hobbled by the absence of the most basic infrastructure, e-commerce will remain an abstract concept for a long time. To reach these ones, citing a physical store not too far from their location remains the best bet.
Seeing and touching sells quicker than just seeing: Ever wondered why many shoppers with access to the internet still end up carrying out most of their e-commerce purchases in physical stores?
For many Nigerians, seeing and being able to touch the item beats just being able to see it on the screen of a mobile phone or laptop. Majority still want to see, touch, feel and/or experience a product before they part with their money.
Nothing can replace the plain old physical contact: Commerce in Nigeria originated from a traditional stand-point. Nothing feels better than haggling with a seller face-to-face and eventually securing a bargain.
The glint in the eyes of the buyer and renewed spring in the steps are a sight to behold. For now, at least, e-commerce will struggle to completely wipe away this culturally-ingrained shopping behaviour.
E-Business
Kaspersky Brings AI-driven Context to Cloud Workload Security

Kaspersky has updated its Cloud Workload Security (CWS) offering, introducing AI-powered workload analysis, enhanced integrations and performance optimisations designed to help organisations better secure complex cloud and hybrid environments.

The latest update brings integration with OpenAI API in the Kaspersky Container Security (KCS) part of the offering, also resulting in the creation of a new Advanced Pro license within the product.
The new capability provides contextual descriptions of detected vulnerabilities and potential risks, helping accelerate investigations, reduce knowledge gaps and support faster decision-making.
Designed for modern DevOps and hybrid cloud environments, Kaspersky CWS provides centralised visibility across workloads, Kubernetes clusters and cloud platforms, while supporting runtime protection, shift-left security practices and regulatory compliance requirements.
AI-driven visibility and improved workload protection
The update allows organisations to enrich container image scanning results with automated explanations and risk context generated by third-party large language models integrated via OpenAI API. By transforming technical scan data into actionable insights, the feature helps teams prioritise remediation and streamline security operations.
Additional improvements include single sign-on (SSO) integration and multi-domain Active Directory support, enabling more seamless deployment across distributed enterprise environments.
To optimise performance, Kaspersky CWS now also enhances image scanning efficiency by skipping oversized images when needed and avoiding rescans of identical images within a predefined timeframe. Expanded security policy capabilities and UX/UI updates further simplify workload protection and policy management.
Enhanced protection across cloud environments
The new release also updates Light Agent components, now leveraging the latest versions of Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Windows (version 12.12) and Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Linux (version 12.4) to improve overall security and integration capabilities.
“As AI adoption accelerates across industries, organisations are increasingly relying on containerised environments – placing additional pressure on security teams.
“To help ease this burden, we introduced AI integration within Kaspersky Cloud Workload Security that enables security professionals, including those just beginning their journey in container security, to make faster decisions and gain deeper insight into potential risks and vulnerabilities,” comments Anton Rusakov-Rudenko, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Cloud & Network Security at Kaspersky.
“Combined with performance optimisations and expanded integration capabilities, the solution helps organisations to protect cloud environments more efficiently while maintaining operational resilience.”
E-Business
SARS Denies Being Hacked by Nullsec Nigeria, Hacker Group

South African Revenue Service (SARS) has dismissed claims that its systems were breached, following allegations by a hacker group that it had compromised the tax authority’s digital infrastructure.

The controversy emerged after Nullsec Nigeria, a threat actor also known as Anonymous Nigeria, claimed to have breached both SARS and the State Information Technology Agency (SITA).
The hacktivist group allegedly posted links to download what it claimed was compromised data on the Breached hacker forum on Saturday, 23 May 2026, sparking concerns over a possible cyberattack targeting government systems.
However, SARS said it had conducted a thorough investigation into the claims and found no evidence that its systems had been compromised.
“SARS continuously monitors its systems for any suspicious activity and has conducted a thorough investigation in response to these reports. These claims are false and unsubstantiated,” the revenue service said in a statement.
“At this stage, there is no evidence that SARS’s systems have been compromised. SARS wishes to reassure the public regarding the integrity of its systems.”
The tax authority stressed that safeguarding taxpayer information remains one of its core responsibilities and forms part of its broader efforts to maintain public confidence in South Africa’s tax administration system.
SARS said the “protection of taxpayer information and the security of its digital platforms” is treated as “sacrosanct”.
The agency also urged South Africans to avoid sharing unverified claims and instead rely on official channels for accurate information.
“Members of the public are urged to verify information before sharing and not to circulate unverified claims or rely on information from unofficial sources,” SARS said.
At the same time, SARS warned taxpayers to remain vigilant against phishing scams and fraudulent messages falsely claiming to be from the tax authority.
For guidance on identifying scams and phishing attempts, SARS directed the public to its official online resource page: SARS scams and phishing guidance
SARS said it would continue monitoring its digital environment and communicate any developments through official platforms should the need arise.
E-Business
Pope Calls for ‘Disarming’ of AI, Warns of “New Forms of Slavery”

Pope Leo XIV called Monday for the “disarming” of artificial intelligence in his long-awaited manifesto on the rapidly developing technology, and warned of “new forms of slavery” behind its rise.

Leo, warned against “a race for ever more powerful algorithms and larger datasets, driven by the desire to secure geopolitical or commercial dominance”.
He presented his first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity) in person at the Vatican, alongside AI experts including Christopher Olah, co-founder of US giant Anthropic.
Anthropic is embroiled in a legal battle with the US military after opposing the use of its technology for lethal autonomous warfare and mass surveillance.
At the presentation, Olah said AI companies operate “inside a set of incentives and constraints that can sometimes conflict with doing the right thing”.
He welcomed input from outside actors like the Catholic Church, to “push events in a better direction” saying that “the questions raised by AI are bigger than the AI research community”.
In the encyclical, Leo also sounded the alarm over AI-directed weaponry, saying it was “not permissible to entrust lethal” decisions to tech.
Leo has repeatedly clashed with the White House over the Iran war and its use of religion to justify conflict.
The “just war” theory — espoused recently by the Trump administration — was “outdated”, Leo wrote, adding that “no algorithm can make war morally acceptable”.
AI could be worth up to $4.8 trillion by 2033, a 25-fold increase in a decade, while concentrating its profits in the hands of a limited few, according to the United Nations.
“Disarming AI means freeing it from the mentality of ‘armed’ competition,” the pope wrote.
“To disarm does not mean rejecting technology, but preventing it from dominating humanity,” Leo wrote.
AI should be “human-friendly”, accessible to all, and open to discussion and debate, he added.
The head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics has made the hot-button issue a cornerstone of his papacy by dedicating to it his first encyclical — a document that lays the basis for Church teaching and longer-term debate.
The manifesto references a range of cultural giants, from Greek philosopher Plato to Beethoven and his Ninth Symphony, even citing a character from JRR Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”.
“Magnifica Humanitas” was signed on May 15, the 135th anniversary of an 1891 encyclical by Leo XIII, which laid the foundations of the Church’s social doctrine during the Industrial Revolution.
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