Author: Dan Gendro

The majority of e-commerce deals in Africa occur over smartphones.

As more Africans acquire and gain internet access via smartphones, the number of e-commerce sales taking place over mobile phones in the continent continues to rise. According to an e-commerce Q1 report data by Criteo, mobile commerce in Africa has particularly taken off in the continent’s urban regions, such as Nigeria.

M-commerce in Nigeria experienced a significant boost in the first quarter of 2016.

Vanguard reported that the study, which was released by the performance marketing firm during the Mobile West Africa conference – recently held in Lagos – revealed that the number of retail e-commerce transactions that took place via smartphones in Nigeria jumped by 73% within Q1 2016. This reflects a worldwide m-commerce trend which has increased by 39% since Q4 2015.

The report, which revealed that smartphones are becoming the leading mobile commerce device in Africa, indicates that smartphones are responsible for approximately 18% of e-commerce transactions in Africa. This is a much higher percentage compared to the estimated 10% share made up by other mobile devices.

When it comes to mobile commerce in Africa, e-commerce sales trends vary from one country to the next.

Criteo’s report also compared mobile sales trends to desktop sales trends in Nigeria and discovered that desktop e-commerce sales were dominant during the weekdays while the sales were about equal among mobile and desktop users on the weekend. The report noted that desktop usage typically increased during office hours with clicks averaging 1200% while clicks though mobile barley made it above 100%. That said, on weekends, this percentage changed with both desktop and mobile usage averaging about 250% across both devices.

Interestingly, Nigeria’s mobile commerce trends differ from South Africa’s. While Nigeria’s e-commerce sales are about equal between mobile and desktop on the weekend, in South Africa, m-commerce dominates on the weekends where retail mobile commerce appears similar to that of South East Asian countries that have a more developed e-commerce sector.

Nevertheless, mobile commerce in Africa is definitely growing. In Nigeria, alone, the report found that mobile conversion rates are steadily on the rise in the country with Android smartphones averaging 1.8% conversion rates, Android tablets at 1.5% conversion rates, and iPhones and iPads averaging 2.9%.

Though e-editions of novels looked as though they were starting to dip, they are suddenly rebounding.

The ebook market had been going through a period in which its future was not entirely certain as both the growth of downloads and the purchase of dedicated e-readers had looked as though they were slowing, but these digital editions appear to be rebounding to the point that many authors feel that ebooks have become a required format.

The concept of an ebook had been a tough sell for some time, but it seems that it has now gained mainstream acceptance.

According to Julie B. Campbell, co-author of the popular Perspective book series, ebook editions are no longer a luxury. They’re an expectation from readers. “It used to be that the initial launch of a novel involved the release of a hardcover and then an eventual paperback,” she said. “Now, with the importance of the ebook market, that first hardcover is typically accompanied by a Kindle, Kobo and Nook edition’s availability. They’re even included in the pre-orders before the official release date.”

The ebook market has struggled to reach this point, having faced many controversies and legal battles.

For Campbell and her co-author, Amanda Giasson, there wasn’t any question as to whether or not they would be producing a version of their novels – Love at First Plight and Second Wind – in a format that was compatible with e-readers, tablets and even smartphones. Both the first and second volumes in their series were launched in formats compatible with the leading ebook retailers and they have every intention to continue in that same direction.

“I’d love to say we’re doing it because we have some kind of inside knowledge about the ebook market, but the truth is, we’re just offering our books in the format our readers want. Every author I can think of in our genre – Marissa Mayer, John Darryl Winston, Kiera Kass, Kat Stiles – has released ebook versions of their series.”

Readers appreciate the ease of e-reading. Ebooks can be downloaded immediately upon purchase and can be read wherever they have their mobile devices. Moreover, authors enjoy the opportunity to provide more digital content and media through ebooks that simply cannot be made available in traditional print. “Introducing our readers to our fantasy world of Qarradune also means introducing them to character names and places that they may not know how to pronounce. We’ve recorded the proper pronunciation of these names and have included them on our official website, which readers can easily access with a click or a tap via the link in our ebook.”

The ebook market currently accounts for about 20 percent of the total book industry. According to Amazon’s figures from 2015, indie publishers and self-published authors are gaining the most in terms of revenues, while traditional publishers appear to be among those facing the greatest struggles in this sector.