E-commerce, championing Nigeria’s digital journey?

•Online shopping sector jumps 15 points to 75% in new report
•Customer satisfaction hits 71% despite service quality decline in key sectors
•Power, Public Sector trail at 51%, 53%
By Prince Osuagwu

E-Commerce appears to be one sector in Nigeria where customers are not complaining as much as they used to.
While poor service continues to dog several sectors of the economy, e-commerce appears to be quietly winning the hearts of Nigerian consumers.

The online shopping business emerged as Nigeria’s best-performing sector in customer satisfaction in 2025, scoring 75 per cent — a remarkable 15 percentage-point jump from its 2024 score of 60 per cent.

And that is not all.

The sector’s 2025 performance came against a rather gloomy backdrop in which nine of the 12 sectors measured recorded lower scores than in the previous reporting period.

In other words, while service quality was falling in several parts of the economy, e-commerce was going in the opposite direction.
The finding is contained in the 2025 State of Customer Service in Nigeria Report, released by the Nigeria Customer Service Index, NCSI, in a review of Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary and the 2026 Customer Service Week.

The report, powered by the West Africa Association of Customer Service Professionals, WAACSP, is based on 21,387 responses covering more than 1,500 organisations across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

From the report, the numbers tell an interesting story.

Nigeria’s overall Customer Satisfaction Index, NCSI, benchmark climbed from 61 per cent in 2023 to 67 per cent in 2024 and 71 per cent in 2025.

But beneath that headline improvement lies a curious contradiction.

Despite the national satisfaction score hitting an all-time high, the report says nine out of the 12 sectors recorded lower scores than in the previous reporting period.

So, where did the satisfaction come from?

E-commerce appears to have provided part of the answer.

The sector did not merely retain its position among the better-performing industries. It moved decisively to the top, scoring 75 per cent, ahead of Real Estate at 72 per cent.

Telecommunications also recorded modest improvement, rising by one percentage point.

At the organisation level, Slot emerged number one in e-commerce, followed by Jumia and Konga.

Interestingly, e-commerce has not just appeared suddenly on the customer-service radar. Jumia, Konga and Slot have featured in the NCSI every year from 2023 to 2025, showing that the sector’s major players have maintained visibility in the index over time.

Why online shoppers are now happier

Providing a clue, the report found that customer trust was the number-one priority in every sector, but e-commerce recorded the highest trust rating of all sectors at a striking 90 per cent.

That is significant in an economy where consumers are increasingly demanding convenience, transparency and quick responses from businesses.

For the online shopper, the customer journey is increasingly digital. If they are not searching for products, they are comparing prices, ordering, tracking delivery and raising complaints.

The NCSI says its survey measured customer experiences across areas including trust, professionalism, competence, complaint resolution, ease of doing business, processes and procedures, staff engagement and customer-focused innovation.

The 75 per cent e-commerce score therefore suggests that, despite the complaints that still surround online shopping, customers are finding enough improvement in the experience to give the sector a strong vote of confidence.

But there is also another interesting twist. While Power struggles, e-commerce surges. The contrast with some other sectors could hardly be sharper.

For instance, Transportation suffered the biggest decline, falling 13 percentage points, while Power and the Public Sector each dropped by 10 points.

Power ended the ranking at just 51 per cent, while the Public Sector scored 53 per cent.

Negative public sentiment was also highest in the Public Sector, at 44 per cent, and Power, at 43 per cent.

Yet e-commerce was sitting at the other end of the table with 75 per cent satisfaction and 90 per cent customer trust.

It is a striking picture of two Nigerias: one where customers are still battling service failures, and another where digital platforms are gradually learning how to make convenience part of the service.

The e-commerce climb

The journey becomes even more interesting when the figures are placed side by side.

In 2023, Hospitality was the highest-performing sector at 73 per cent, while the Public Sector was lowest at 47 per cent.
In 2024, Transportation took the lead at 73 per cent, while E-commerce was at the bottom of the table among the reported sector extremes with 60 per cent.

Then came 2025, and e-commerce exploded to the top with 75 per cent.

That 15-point jump is arguably the most dramatic sectoral improvement in the latest report.

And it could be telling Nigerian businesses something important: customers may forgive many things, but they increasingly reward businesses that make their lives easier.

But there is a warning; the e-commerce success story does not mean Nigeria has solved its customer-service problem.

The NCSI and WAACSP are urging organisations to focus on trust-building, faster complaint resolution and consistent service delivery, particularly in the Public Sector and Power.

They also recommend combining digital convenience with reliable traditional customer support.

The report further cautions that the survey had a strong concentration in Lagos and Abuja. Of the 21,387 responses, Lagos accounted for 9,897 responses, or 46.75 per cent, while Abuja contributed 2,994, or 14.14 per cent. Together, the two locations accounted for 60.89 per cent of all responses.

So, while the numbers provide a fascinating snapshot of customer sentiment, the researchers say broader participation outside Lagos and Abuja would strengthen future comparisons.

Still, one message from the 2025 numbers is difficult to ignore.

As traditional sectors struggle with complaints over service quality, e-commerce appears to be showing that Nigerians can still be satisfied when technology, convenience and customer experience come together.

For an economy increasingly moving from the physical to the digital marketplace, that may be the beginning of an even bigger story in 2026 and beyond.

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