As the official celebration of the shopping season – Black Friday – looms on Friday, November 29^th, shoppers in Nigeria have disclosed the major items they will be looking out for as well as their most preferred platforms for shopping on Friday.

A survey conducted by Retail Analytics & Audit, a retail-focused research and advisory firm, has identified e-commerce giant, Konga as the most popular retail platform which the majority of the prospective shoppers sampled will be patronizing for the Black Friday deals. Konga polled a total of 13.5 per cent of the respondents whose responses were analysed.

Shoprite, Jumia and SPAR follow very closely.

Interestingly, the research further provides a guide into the behavioural traits and predilections guiding the shopping instincts of the average Nigerian ahead of Friday’s mega Black Friday sales.

The majority of the respondents submitted that they chose Konga – whose sales have been dubbed Konga Yakata – for a number of reasons. These include the ease and convenience of its omni-channel structure (85 per cent) which ensures that a shopper can order online and choose to pick up in-store, or walk into any Konga retail store and place an order for delivery to their home or office. Next was the emphasis on genuine products which Konga is renowned for (79.4 per cent). For these class of shoppers, quality was the most important consideration.

Swift delivery and easy fulfilment options (91 per cent) was another major factor which swung in Konga’s favour among the respondents sampled. According to the opinions expressed, Konga has improved on same day delivery for a number of orders placed on its platforms. Also, the growing physical store presence affords shoppers the opportunity to play a part in the order fulfilment process as they can choose to walk into the nearest Konga store to pick up their items. This particular feature appealed to respondents in the working class segment who are often unavailable for deliveries or who may be hard-pressed for time.

In addition, a total of 59 per cent of the respondents expressed a desire in shopping for a combination of Home & Kitchen appliances, as well as food items such as rice, beverages and oil, among others. This is understandably in preparation for the fast-approaching festive season. Closely following behind this was mobile phones, laptops, tablets and other computing devices with 22 per cent. This category of products has been known to enjoy consistently high patronage among shoppers. The remaining 19 per cent was devoted to other categories of products altogether.

Flight bargain hunters also plumped for Konga Travels, for whom the majority of the respondents cited the convenience of booking their flights either online or in a Konga Travel store (88 per cent); the courteous and professional manner of the staff (69.8 per cent), and most importantly, the added value derived through the seamless and timely processing of their visas by Konga Travels (98.2 per cent).

The Black Friday sales kick off by midnight on Friday, November 29^th.

The day is expected to be characterised by crazy price slashes and incredible discounts on a wide variety of products. Long queues are also expected at most retail stores by bargain-hungry shoppers looking to get their hands on the best-priced products.