Nigerian online shoppers based in the capital, Abuja have expressed dissatisfaction with the poor quality of goods.
The online customers told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews on Sunday that they are often disappointed to see that the goods they ordered are far better in quality than what was brought to them.
Miss Faith Balogun, a resident of Asokoro and business woman, said most people take risks in online shopping because they don’t have to leave their homes to get the goods.
Balogun said that the biggest problem with online shopping was the lack of guarantee on the quality of products.
“The goods are not always of high quality. What you see online might not actually be what will be brought to you, as fraudulent sellers also intentionally mislead customers,” she said.
Miss Anita Samson, a civil servant, said she had been following the thrift shop online for a very long time and she wanted to patronise them.
Samson said she ordered for wears but got entirely different things from what she ordered.
“None of the things I ordered were in what they brought and they refused to refund my money,” she said.
She said some online operators would give tough conditions to return goods. They usually say “if one does not return the goods within 72 hours, they would not accept them, thereby forcing the product on the buyer.”
Samson said she would not patronize online shopping again, adding that she would rather take the risk of going to the markets.
“I will patronise the open market until such a time the government creates laws of convenient on online shopping where both buyers’ and sellers’ interests are covered,” she said.
Mrs Mfon Ekong said that internet shopping is increasingly becoming popular in Nigeria due to the convenience it offers and the reasonable prices of goods and services available.
Ekong said that visiting stores could be quite stressful, especially in cities like Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Abuja, Calabar, Ibadan, Kaduna and Kano, with the high traffic gridlock.
She said with the introduction of online retail stores such as Konga.com and various other stores, online shopping platforms have become a viable option for Nigerians although they also have their challenges.
Ekong said that the advantages are more, considering the problems associated with open market.
