from OKORO CHINEDU in Lagos, Nigeria
Nigeria Bureau
LAGOS, (CAJ News) – WITH the largest population in Africa, including a sizable middle class, Nigeria is an attractive market for consumer electronic and durables brands.
However, only a handful of companies from the rest of the world succeed when they enter this complex but dynamic market, which also is the largest economy in the continent.
A lack of reliable consumer insights and market data—in turn, leading to suboptimal sales, marketing and merchandising strategies is one of the major challenges organisations face as they enter the West African country.
That is according to Ozarh Kajee, Business Development Director: Market Intelligence at GfK Africa, the market research company.
“With a population of around 220 million and Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria is a market that brands can’t afford to ignore,” said Kajee.
“Yet many of the brands that have entered the country with ambitious growth plans, have subsequently downgraded their presence or exited the market. Only those with go-to-market models based on deep insight into the local landscape have succeeded.”
Kajee cited a lack of reliable, structured and up-to-date information about Nigeria’s diverse retail market.
He noted it is hard for companies to source insight into market dynamics across a vast country with a complicated retail environment.
“Companies cannot easily get answers to questions such as which brands are stocked and where; which are recommended by staff; and which channels to market are the most efficient and effective ways to reach the customer.”
Kajee observed the Nigerian market had changed considerably since the start of the COVID-19 crisis.
Trends such as accelerated adoption of ecommerce, higher inflation and a volatile exchange rate have all reshaped the structure of the middle class, how retail channels operate and the behaviour of the Nigerian consumer.
“Many companies are still basing their strategies on research and insights that date back to before the pandemic,” Kajee said.
He said businesses need access to robust market insights to recognise sales opportunities and optimise their strategies and tactics for promotional planning, pricing, sales opportunities across channels and categories.
Yet in Nigeria’s case, it is difficult to stay on top of developments, digest data and make the right decisions.
GfK has resumed a new research programme in Nigeria with the goal of closing some of these information gaps and casting more light on a poorly understood market.
The GfK Retail Landscape survey is underway, gathering information on around 13 000 technical and durable goods stores across the nine major cities.
Data will be validated through street-by-street observations and store manager interviews.
GfK will also apply its Share of Recommendation quantitative framework to identify brand recommendation levels and measure performance on key drivers of recommendation by measuring which brands shoppers request, and which brands the retailers recommend.
“The right data and analytics are key to driving successful channel, marketing, and merchandising strategies,” Kajee said.
“Our experience in Africa and robust methodologies mean we can offer a structured view of what the latest developments in the Nigerian technical goods market are, equipping brands with the insights they need to win in a complicated and volatile market.”
– CAJ News