The penetration of E-commerce in Kenya has grown tremendously year by year. Analysts forecast that it will grow 12% each year between 2021 and 2025. This will double the global average of 6%. The key enablers that will capacitate the country to achieve this milestone are enhancing trust among users, reliable and cheap internet, and lower shipping costs.
Social commerce involves selling products on social media. This begins from product discovery to the checkout point. This form of commerce is still at its nascent stage in Kenya and a few startups are facilitating the form of commerce.
This form of commerce is taking place on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Although it is facing challenges from buyers meeting swindlers and not genuine sellers.
Cotline is solving the challenges facing social commerce buyers. They provide them with a place to meet genuine social media sellers. The buyers will be able to browse through a list of sellers and talk to them via Whatsapp. This makes purchasing online feel like doing a purchase from a physical store. The buyer can even compare prices across different social sellers.
