As internet access continues to improve across Nigeria, more and more entrepreneurs are looking to cash in on the lucrative world of e-commerce. With millions of potential customers at your fingertips, selling products online can be an extremely rewarding business venture.
The big question for many aspiring internet moguls is: what should I actually sell? With so many options out there, it can be tough to determine the best products to invest your time and capital into selling online.
In this guide, we’ll explore some of the top product categories and specific items that make great sense for Nigerian online sellers. We’ll look at factors like demand, competitiveness, profit margins, and start-up costs to help you zero in on opportunities ripe for the taking.
So whether you’re just getting started or want to expand your existing online business, this is the guide for uncovering hot-selling product ideas tailored to the Nigerian market. Let’s dive in!
Nigerian-Made Products Appeal
One major trend to capitalize on is the growing sense of nationalism and pride in locally-made Nigerian products. As domestic manufacturing continues growing, more and more high-quality made-in-Nigeria items are making their way to market.
Selling Nigerian-made goods allows you to tap into this patriotic consumer sentiment. It also means your supply chain and overhead costs are highly streamlined compared to importing items.
Some top product categories for Nigerian-made offerings include:
Clothing/Fashion Items
From vibrantly printed traditional attire to contemporary urban styles, Nigerian clothing and fashion brands have been exploding in popularity in recent years. Look for unique pieces from up-and-coming designers you can offer at a fair price.
Processed Foods/Beverages
Nigeria is rich in agricultural resources, making food items a natural fit as a product line. Best-selling options could include packaged snacks, spices/seasoning mixes, beverages like Nigerian-made wines/spirits, and more.
Handicrafts
Finely-crafted baskets, wooden carvings, beaded jewelry, and other traditional handicrafts from Nigeria’s many ethnicities make for eye-catching product offerings.
Whichever Nigerian-made goods you choose to sell, be sure to gather compelling product photos, descriptions, and back stories to market the items effectively.
See Also: How to Start Affiliate Marketing in Nigeria for Beginners
Tech Products for a Rapidly Modernizing Society
One of the fastest-growing product categories in Nigeria is consumer tech hardware and software applications. As more Nigerians gain access to computers, smartphones, and internet connectivity, demand is surging for tech tools and services.
Smart online entrepreneurs can make a healthy profit selling some of the most popular tech items, including:
Laptops/Tablets
While these require a bigger up-front inventory investment, selling laptop and tablet computers represents a huge opportunity. Focus on affordable, durable models well-suited for the Nigerian market.
Smartphone Accessories
With smartphone adoption skyrocketing across Nigeria, phone cases, screen protectors, chargers, batteries, selfie sticks, and other smartphone accessories make perfect inexpensive items to sell online.
Software/Apps
Look for locally-developed Nigerian software applications and productivity tools to market on your online store. Apps for mobile money services, e-learning, entertainment, and business operations could be particularly strong performers.
Video Games
Whether it’s retro gaming consoles or the latest video game releases, you’ll find high demand from Nigeria’s rapidly growing community of video game enthusiasts.
Home/Personal Electronics
Don’t overlook more basic but essential home and personal electronics like audio speakers, home appliances, portable fans, electric shavers, and the like. These everyday items can move serious volume.
You’ll want to make sure any electronics you sell online come with a solid warranty for the Nigerian market. Also be ready to compete aggressively on price with established tech retailers.
Personal Care/Beauty Products
Rapidly growing in popularity among Nigerian online shoppers are personal care and beauty products. Items in this category tend to offer generous profit margins while being relatively affordable for customers.
Some of the best personal care/beauty products to sell online include:
Skincare/Cosmetics
From anti-aging creams to makeup and other cosmetics, the Nigerian skincare and beauty market has been exploding. Look for fairly priced “dupes” of popular Western brand names.
Hair Care Products
As stylish hair is extremely important in Nigerian culture, hair extensions, wigs, relaxers, shampoos, and other haircare products all make for excellent online sellers.
Fragrances
Colognes, perfumes, and body mists fly off the virtual shelves in Nigeria. Look for quality fragrance knockoffs you can offer at a fraction of the price of mainstream name brand scents.
Bath/Body Items
Everyday items like bar soaps, body lotions, and body washes also fall into this lucrative category. Look for uniquely Nigerian scents and ingredients to stand out from the crowd.
Personal Massagers
While these may seem like novelty items, personal massagers, massage oils, and other self-care devices are big sellers to Nigerians looking to relax and pamper themselves.
Premium Men’s Products
Nigeria also has a large market for premium men’s grooming products like shaving creams, beard care items, and men’s colognes. Positioning yourself as the go-to site for guys can pay off.
To make your beauty and personal care products stand out, look for products that leverage natural, Nigerian-grown ingredients like shea butter, coconut oil, aloe vera, and honey. Emphasize their indigenous appeal in your sales copy.
See Also: How To Start A Profitable Online Business In Nigeria
Baby/Children’s Products
As one of the most rapidly growing populations in Africa, Nigeria has an incredibly lucrative market for baby and children’s products. Young families have plenty of disposable income to spend on keeping their little ones happy and healthy.
Some of the top baby/kids-focused product categories for online sales include:
Baby Clothes & Accessories
From onesies and sleepers to bibs, socks, hats, and more, you’ll have no shortage of demand for baby apparel and accessory bundles in assorted sizes and styles.
Toys & Games
The classic toy, game, and plush categories never go out of style! Cater to all age groups by offering items for infants, toddlers, and older children.
Baby Care Items
Everyday care essentials like diapering supplies, grooming kits, baby skin products, and feeding items make excellent add-on items to bundle with other purchases.
Nursery & Furniture
While larger items like cribs and dressers can be challenging to ship, smaller nursery pieces like step stools, lamps, and plush rugs could work well as part of your baby/kids product catalog.
Maternity products
Don’t overlook expectant mothers, either! Nigeria’s growing “mombassor” community loves buying stylish maternity apparel, skin care products, accessories, and other items made specifically for them.
To stand apart from the competition, focus on offering high-quality baby/children’s items with strong safety certifications and user-friendly designs. You’ll want to aggressively market the value and reliability of your baby products.
So those are just some of the top product categories online Nigerian entrepreneurs should be looking at when deciding what items to sell through their eCommerce business.
Factors to Consider
Of course, in addition to product selection, would-be online merchants have several other key factors to weigh, including:
Competition Level
How many other Nigerian or international sellers are already competing fiercely in your chosen product category? You may have to work harder to get noticed in oversaturated markets.
Supply Chain Reliability
Can you consistently obtain the inventory needed to fulfill customer orders on a timely basis? Nigeria’s import/export challenges make pristine supply chains difficult.
Start-Up Costs
Some product categories like electronics require bigger up-front inventory investments than others like clothing, beauty, or baby products.
Profit Margins
Different product types have varying profit potentials after factoring in costs like raw materials, manufacturing, shipping, commissions, advertising, and so on.
Finding the right balance between all of the above criteria is essential to optimizing your likelihood of success.
See Also: Best Affiliate Programs in Nigeria for Bloggers
Get Started With Thorough Research
As you can see, Nigerian entrepreneurs have a wealth of opportunities for profitable online product sales, ranging from locally-made goods to imported tech items, personal care products, and baby essentials.
But with so many options available, you can’t just wing it. Conducting extensive up-front research into specific product categories and their demand levels, competitive landscape, costs, profit potential, and logistical feasibility is absolutely critical.
Dig into real buyer data to identify trending product searches and categories experiencing rapid sales growth. Analyze online reviews to pinpoint common product complaints you could potentially solve or ways to differentiate your offerings. Reach out directly to manufacturers and suppliers to gauge pricing and inventory availability.
Only after you’ve carefully vetted a variety of product ideas should you settle on an initial catalog to start building your online store with. By validating proven product-market fit before investing heavily into any particular items, you’ll put yourself in the best possible position to successfully launch a thriving
