The rise of e-commerce in Uganda has been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It has seen physical business stores shift online with businesses setting up websites, social media pages and building customised applications.
However, there are growing concerns about low service standards.
During the Covid-19 induced lockdown in April 2020, George Mubiru spotted a pair of shoes on an online shop going for Shs200,000.
With his scientific wedding, which was only a few days away, Mubiru says he did not have the means and time to physically go to the shop, so he ordered for them online. But when the shoes arrived, he was disappointed.
“Those shoes would not even cost Shs30,000. They were only shining on top but the quality was terrible. The skin even began peeling off a few months later,” he says.
For Peter Okei, when he received his electronic kettle ordered from a shop that was advertising on Facebook and Twitter, it malfunctioned after using it once.
“Yet when I contacted the lady who had sent a boda to deliver it, she could not replace it. She kept giving me excuses until I gave up,” he says.
According to Ms Lyn Tukei, the Xente chief marketing and communications officer, poor quality products and lack of honesty are hurting the online business.
“Their concern is usually about how quickly they get paid,” she says, adding that many do not even have established addresses where customers can go to return their goods or lodge complaints.
Quality monitoring
The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is also aware of such challenges.
“We have received several complaints that some online service providers sell substandard products. Therefore in the near future, we shall work with Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to ensure that all these online product sales people are registered to ease follow up and quality monitoring of the products that they supply,” Ms Barbara Kamusiime, senior public relations officer at UNBS, says.
UNBS says any consumer supplied with a suspected substandard product can report for it to follow up the online vendor. It is law in Uganda that online businesses must also be registered just like any other company through Uganda Registration Services Bureau.
“Anyone who sells substandard products can be brought to book using a couple of laws, The Electronic Transactions Act 2011, Computer Misuse Act 2011 and UNBS Act,” Kamusiime says.
“Products made here have to be certified by UNBS. They must possess a quality mark before they are placed on the market and this means they meet minimum standards. Imported products like shoes or textiles have undergone PvoC so they meet standards. Fresh produce in markets has been inspected by our colleagues in local government so these are assumed to at least meet minimum standards and be fit for purpose.”
Credibility is key
According to Michael Walusimbi, an entrepreneur, credibility is everything when doing business online. This is what gets your customer base growing.
“You must deliver genuine products. Ensure that what you shared online is what you deliver to clients,” he adds.
Walusimbi has no kind words for dishonest entrepreneurs who want to cheat their customers. “If you want online
marketing to be profitable, you have to deliver genuine products because sometimes it involves meeting your own transport costs to deliver products. So, do not use online platforms and think you will dupe customers,” he says.
Maclean Atuhaire, a business analyst, says in this new era of online shopping where customers can easily compare prices and find the best deal conveniently, transparency is a magical key to the success of any business. For customers to be loyal to your product and brand, your values must emphasize transparency, honesty and non-discrimination, by not judging customers based on what you think they can afford from the bargaining inbox chats you intend to have with them.
“With price transparency, your product will be defined and quantified based on its value and worth by customers from all walks of life. Listing your prices makes your business more attractive than any competitor’s whether your products are considered expensive or inexpensive,” she says.
The director of technical services at the National Information and Technology Authority, Vivian Ddambya advises the online traders to mind what the market thinks about them because then, they will have a good image. This comes as experts try to prevent digital based companies from collapsing especially under crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic which has created missed fortunes for the innovators and users of online shopping technology.
Japheth Kawanguzi, commonly known as CK Japheth, the founder of The Innovation Village says many digital companies collapsed during to the lockdown but others thrived, while many new ones were created and are growing. He says innovators have to know what suits the environment before investing their time and money into it.
It is difficult to tell how many online shoppers are in Uganda since thousands of them are unregistered and do not have offices which also makes it almost impossible to regulate them.
This means even the payment of government taxes is limited to customs duties.
But Uganda Revenue Authority recognizes the importance of the online shops which have been an important part of creating or sustaining the bridge between the local industries and consumers on one side and the countries from which Uganda imports.