The online shopping industry scored 75 per cent in the latest customer satisfaction assessment, rising 15 percentage points from 60 per cent in 2024. The improvement placed it ahead of Real Estate, which recorded 72 per cent, and highlighted the growing importance of digital platforms in shaping consumer experiences.
The findings are contained in the 2025 State of Customer Service in Nigeria Report, released by the Nigeria Customer Service Index as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary and the 2026 Customer Service Week.
The report, powered by the West Africa Association of Customer Service Professionals, draws on 21,387 responses covering more than 1,500 organisations across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Nigeria’s overall customer satisfaction score has continued to improve, rising from 61 per cent in 2023 to 67 per cent in 2024 and 71 per cent in 2025. However, the national improvement masks a worrying trend, as nine of the 12 sectors assessed recorded lower scores than in the previous reporting period.
E commerce moved in the opposite direction, registering the strongest improvement among the sectors highlighted in the report and taking the top position in the latest rankings.
At the company level, Slot emerged as the highest ranked e commerce business, followed by Jumia and Konga. The three companies have featured in the index every year from 2023 to 2025, demonstrating their continued presence in Nigeria’s online shopping market.
Why Nigerian shoppers are becoming more satisfied
Customer trust appears to be a major factor behind the sector’s strong performance. According to the report, trust ranked as the leading customer priority across all sectors, while e commerce recorded the highest trust rating at 90 per cent.
For consumers, online shopping offers the opportunity to browse products, compare prices, place orders and track deliveries without visiting physical stores. The ability to complete these activities through digital platforms has made convenience an increasingly important part of the shopping experience.
However, convenience alone does not guarantee customer satisfaction. Buyers also expect accurate product information, reliable delivery, clear communication, responsive support and effective complaint resolution when something goes wrong.
The NCSI assessment examined several aspects of customer experience, including trust, professionalism, competence, complaint handling, ease of doing business, internal processes, staff engagement and customer focused innovation.
The sector’s 75 per cent satisfaction score suggests that online shopping businesses are making progress in meeting these expectations, although the result does not mean that all customer complaints have been resolved.
The performance also stands out when compared with sectors facing persistent service delivery challenges.
A sharp contrast with Power and the Public Sector
While e commerce recorded substantial growth, other sectors struggled to maintain their previous performance. Transportation experienced the largest decline, losing 13 percentage points, while Power and the Public Sector each fell by 10 percentage points.
Power finished at the bottom of the rankings with 51 per cent, while the Public Sector recorded 53 per cent. These sectors also attracted the highest levels of negative customer sentiment, at 43 per cent and 44 per cent respectively.
The contrast highlights the different experiences Nigerians encounter when dealing with businesses and public services. While consumers continue to face serious frustrations in some areas, digital platforms appear to be making progress in delivering services that are more convenient and responsive to customer needs.
The latest figures also reveal how dramatically the position of e commerce has changed in just two years.
In 2023, Hospitality led the sector rankings with 73 per cent, while the Public Sector recorded the lowest score at 47 per cent. In 2024, Transportation topped the rankings at 73 per cent, while e commerce recorded 60 per cent.
By 2025, online shopping had climbed to the top with 75 per cent, marking a notable turnaround in its performance.
The improvement suggests that businesses capable of reducing friction in the customer journey may have an advantage in an increasingly competitive market. Consumers want services that save time, provide clear information and resolve problems without unnecessary delays.
Challenges remain despite the progress
Despite the gains recorded by e commerce, the report warns against assuming that Nigeria’s broader customer service challenges have been overcome.
The NCSI and WAACSP have urged organisations to build stronger customer trust, resolve complaints more quickly and deliver more consistent services. They also stressed the need to combine the convenience of digital technology with dependable customer support.
The report equally acknowledges a limitation in its findings, noting that responses were heavily concentrated in Lagos and Abuja.
Lagos accounted for 9,897 responses, representing 46.75 per cent of the total, while Abuja contributed 2,994 responses, or 14.14 per cent. Combined, the two locations represented 60.89 per cent of all responses.
Although the findings offer useful insight into customer experiences, broader participation from other parts of the country would provide a more balanced picture of satisfaction levels nationwide.
For Nigeria’s growing digital economy, the rise of e commerce offers an encouraging sign that better customer experiences are possible even in a difficult operating environment. Its continued success, however, will depend on businesses maintaining consumer trust, improving service reliability and ensuring that convenience extends beyond placing an order to the entire shopping experience.
As more Nigerians embrace online transactions, the sector’s performance could provide useful lessons for businesses seeking to improve customer satisfaction and strengthen their position in the country’s expanding digital marketplace.
