In my previous article, I highlighted a report on how leading African economies have struggled to improve their infrastructure, business conditions, and overall competitiveness against other emerging markets in areas that measure their digital skills and sustainability. The importance of digital readiness was apparent in the 2022 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, a ranking of the world’s 50 leading emerging markets.

The digital readiness of a nation can be assessed on the basis of its digital skills, training, internet access, e-commerce growth, investment climate, and ability to nurture startups, as well as its sustainability factors such as renewable energy mix, lower emissions intensity, and green initiatives. Kenya was ranked No. 28 in the overall Index and 17^th in digital readiness globally in the released survey.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought fatal disruptions in the supply chain coupled with the ever-changing consumer demands forcing global retailers to operate in a completely new way. The pandemic caused a remarkable and unprecedented shift in e-commerce. But that became a really good wake-up call for the industry. Their level of digital readiness is now higher than any other sector. Many retailers have focused on having a strong web presence, invested adequately in mobile app development as phones and tablets continue to be the most preferred e-commerce channels.

For businesses that want to continue succeeding in this field, understanding who your customers are and how they behaved throughout the pandemic will be critical for achieving long-term success. The online consumer behavior such as their decision to make a purchase and expectations such as product availability, delivery transparency, affordable shipping, and more recently, a convenient buying journey all affect how consumers make decisions to buy items online (and whether or not they’ll remain, loyal customers, once they’ve made a purchase).

Data will provide key intelligence to predict consumer behavior and prepare for surges in demand for different products and locations. More importantly, true excellence will only result from deep innovations that touch every aspect of operations. A company must work hard to merge online and offline channels and its digital readiness is entirely dependent on how adeptly the organization can use all available tools to adapt to change. Sahari Creative is leveraging its success in building e-commerce websites to help businesses remain sustainable in this new digital ecosystem.

Here are the top five online consumer behavior trends to guide your e-commerce journey:

1. Convenience is a top priority.

2. Easy access across all devices

3. Access to omnichannel shopping

4. Effortless payment

5. Fast and reliable delivery