Economy
How Tough Market Conditions Reset Nigerian Shopping Patterns—Report
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A new report from Nielsen titled ‘Navigating the New Normal in Nigeria’ has identified how tough market conditions in Nigeria altered the shopping pattern of residents in the Africa’s most populous nation.
The report noted that consumers, due to these challenging macro-economic forces, have dumped unnecessary products for immediate consumption needs.
“Spend has been diverted away from discretionary categories like Confectionery (snacks and sweets) and Personal Care (Health and Beauty) products to essential food and commodities, to make ends meet,” Managing Director of Nielsen East & West Africa, Mr Abhik Gupta was quoted as saying in a statement made available to Business Post by the firm.
However, Mr Gupta stressed that “Despite the flux experienced over the last year, Nigeria’s economy is set to rebound and grow at 1.2 percent according to the International Monetary Fund and consumer sentiment remains positive into the future.”
“In addition, despite overall spend declining through to Q2, 2016, it has now recovered over the last three quarters due to stabilising market conditions and inflation.
“Against this backdrop, manufacturers and retailers wanting to survive the current consumer shift and return to previous consumption levels need to understand what is critical to the wallet and what has changed in the shopping and buying dynamics to match their offerings to altered consumer realities,” he added.
Location loyalty
With tougher market conditions and despite a large repertoire of general and specialist channels, smaller, informal format stores have captured more spend away from their bigger Supermarket/Grocer counterparts. Open Markets, Kiosks and Table Tops have gained share of consumer spend (42%, up from 38% two years ago) as they offer greater flexibility in quantities, packaging and pricing, and are conveniently located near home or on commuter routes.
Nigerians are also less likely to travel to another store when a brand is unavailable or out of stock. Store loyalty trumps brand loyalty, as only 31% of consumers will visit another store but 68% report buying a substitute brand.
Against this backdrop, the risk for retailers is that as they are no longer able to maintain costs tied up in higher inventory levels and wider product assortment ranges, this has led to fewer categories being stocked and higher out of stock levels. With irregular supply and demand, consumers may be compelled to look elsewhere if they are unable to find a substitute product and the retailer will risk losing a valuable sale.
In this challenging environment, Nigerian consumers have also been less willing to try new products, resulting in more risk-averse product choices rooted in familiarity and recommendation. Gupta comments; “New brand entrants will need to focus on the current consumer needs for reliable, affordable and available brands, but also provide differentiation, value and distinct quality propositions to succeed in the longer term.”
A digital opportunity knocks
The rapidly shifting retail dynamics in Nigeria have also led to a burgeoning omni-channel opportunity in e-retailing, fuelled by aspirant consumers. Even though online shopping penetration still lags bricks and mortar shopping habits; growing Mobile, Smartphone, Internet penetration and transacting is allowing e-commerce retailers to leapfrog conventional bricks and mortar development. Digital trends point to e-commerce rapidly gaining traction in durable and consumable categories, with Nigerians already spending as much as 61% on out of country e-retailers.
In light of this, retailers will need to reassess product portfolios to suit on and off line consumers’ needs and strengthen brand loyalty. Gupta advises; “A digital strategy should be incorporated from the outset to win in both the long and the short term, providing consumers with seamless retail experiences and access to products not otherwise widely available.
“Retailers have a lot of room to grow when it comes to unifying channels with consistent, yet unique experiences on well-executed mobile-apps, in-store engagement, in-the-moment coupons and virtual shopping lists that will empower consumers and give them more control over their shopping experience and potentially increasing retail sales” he adds.
What’s in store?
Looking ahead, Nigerian sentiment is likely to improve in 2017, providing much needed relief to manufacturers and retailers as consumers add items back into their repertoire. More discerning consumers will continue to rebalance their basket, looking for efficiencies in what, where and how they shop. Consumers will also aspire to better quality products, but require more flexibility in price and quantity to meet their altered circumstances.
Gupta says; “To avoid missing these vital sales, manufacturers need to match products (format and price) to places (stores), with optimal levels of distribution and supply; while retailers will need to manage optimal stock availability and product ranges to retain shoppers.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The board of Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc can raise an additional N30 billion from the capital market, shareholders have declared.
They gave the authorisation for this fresh capital raise at the company’s 67th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held virtually on Thursday, June 25, 2026.
This was one of the resolutions passed at the yearly shareholders’ gathering, attended by several persons, including board and management members as well as investors and others.
The approval for new capital raise is coming after the board was, on June 23, 2025, authorised to raise up to N20.0 billion. For this tranche, only N2.440 billion was raised by the organisation, leaving an untilised balance of approximately N17.560 billion.
The company has now been given the authority to get fresh N30.0 billion, according to disclosure from Neimeth.
In the notice to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Neimeth said the board was asked to “raise additional capital of up to N30.0 billion through an issuance of shares (to be issued, whether by way of public offering, rights issue, private/special placement to strategic or identified investors), commercial papers, bonds, convertible and non-convertible securities), medium term notes and/or any other instruments, either as a stand-alone or by way of programmes, in such tranches, series or proportions, at such coupon or interest rates, within such maturity periods, or on such terms and conditions, through a combination of methods or processes, all of which shall be based on terms and conditions to be determined by the board and subject to obtaining the approvals of the relevant regulatory authorities.”
The shareholders resolved that “the aggregate shareholders’ approval for capital raising shall accordingly be N50.0 billion, of which approximately N2.440 billion has already been raised by way of rights issue, leaving an unutilised balance of approximately N47.560 billion available for raising.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Food Concepts Plc helped root the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange in negative territory, following a 0.36 per cent slide on Monday, June 29.
FrieslandCampina, which is the maker of milk brands Peak Milk and Three Crowns, lost N13.44 to trade at N141.76 per unit compared with its previous price of N155.2o per unit, while Food Concepts, which is the parent company of fast food giant Chicken Republic, declined by 8 Kobo to end at N2.43 per share versus last Friday’s price of N2.51 per share.
Consequently, the NASD Security Index (NSI) slid by 15.51 points to 4,261.56 points from 4,277.07 points, and the market capitalisation lost N9.31 billion to close at N2.557 trillion compared with the previous value of N2.567 trillion.
The bourse finished with two price advancers yesterday, with Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc up by N3.80 to trade at N88.48 per unit versus N84.68 per unit, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc gaining 31 Kobo to end at N21.40 per share versus N21.09 per share.
The volume of securities traded by investors on the first trading day of the week contracted by 75.9 per cent to 229,314 units from the previous 955,096 units, and the value of securities slumped 17.8 per cent to N24.6 million from N29.9 million, while the number of deals increased by 9.7 per cent to 34 deals from the 31 deals recorded last Friday.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.7 million units transacted for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc followed with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million
By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira crashed against the United States Dollar by N2.70 0r 0.2 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, June 29, to N1,383.63/$1 from last Friday’s exchange rate of N1,380.93/$1.
This was influenced by FX pressure on the domestic currency, which also weakened its exchange rate against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment during the session by N6.06 to N1,831.64/£1 from the previous value of N1,824.90/£1. It also depleted the Nigerian currency against the Euro by 45 Kobo, trading at N1,578.03/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,577.58/€1.
However, it maintained stability against the greenback at the parallel market and the GTBank forex desk yesterday at N1,395/$1 and N1,387/$1, respectively.
Despite the pressure on the Naira, it is still trading within the expected range, as a result of ongoing FX reforms, stronger market liquidity, and increased transparency in the FX market.
Unlike in previous years, the improved stability is reflected in the relatively narrow spread between the official exchange rate and rates in the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment, suggesting that reforms introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are helping to improve price discovery and reduce distortions.
Also, Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the apex bank with the capacity to support the Naira and meet the country’s external obligations, have continued to trend upward. Most recent data published on the apex bank’s website showed that reserves rose to $51.29 billion as of June 26, 2026.
In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) lost momentum after it dropped below $60,000, remaining under its 200-week moving average as currency markets swung following the Japanese Yen slipping to four-decade lows against the US Dollar.
Strategy, the largest public holder of bitcoin, plans to sell more than $1 billion of BTC as part of a $1.25 billion monetisation program, a sharp break from Michael Saylor’s long-held “never sell” stance. BTC traded at $59,463.89.
Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.9 per cent to $0.0723, TRON (TRX) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $0.3196, Cardano (ADA) dipped 0.2 per cent to $0.1446, and Ripple (XRP) dropped 0.1 per cent to close at $1.04.
On the flip side, Solana (SOL) gained 2.5 per cent to sell at $73.99, Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,587.51, and Binance Coin (BNB) added 0.01 per cent to sell for $552.58, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn