Kenya’s e-commerce economic system not gathers round a browser window. It unfolds inside telephones, usually with out a homepage ever loading.
New knowledge from the Communications Authority of Kenya factors to a market that has reorganised itself round cellular apps and messaging instruments. Orders are positioned, confirmed, debated, and paid for inside compact digital areas that blur purchasing with on a regular basis communication. Web sites nonetheless exist, however they not anchor the expertise.
This evolution has not arrived with fanfare. It has crept into day by day routines. A WhatsApp chat turns into a listing. A fee immediate closes a deal. A supply rider completes the transaction. Your complete arc matches inside a tool already used for work, gossip, and information.
The CA survey, masking July 2024 to June 2025, exhibits cellular apps now account for practically half of all on-line orders. WhatsApp follows shut behind as a significant industrial channel. Conventional web sites path far again.
What emerges shouldn’t be a tech story within the summary, however a behavioural one. Kenyans have formed e-commerce round how they already stay on their telephones.
Purchasing by dialog, not navigation
WhatsApp’s rise as a purchasing channel says much less about design and extra about belief and familiarity. Patrons ask questions the way in which they’d in a bodily store. Sellers reply in actual time, typically with voice notes, typically with photographs taken on the spot. Costs transfer. Supply particulars are agreed upon. Cost occurs immediately.
This conversational rhythm explains why cellular apps dominate order placement at 44.8 p.c, whereas WhatsApp alone captures over 20 p.c. Web sites, structured round searching and checkout flows, account for simply 12 p.c.
E-mail and telephone calls stay a part of the image, however largely as follow-up instruments. They seem late within the course of, after selections are made. Almost one in ten customers use a number of channels in a single buy, drifting from social media discovery to talk negotiation to app-based fee.
The boundaries between searching, bargaining, and shopping for have thinned. Commerce now sits comfortably inside on a regular basis speak.
A market constructed for the small display screen
Entry patterns reinforce this behaviour. Greater than seven in ten Kenyans store on-line utilizing cell phones. Laptops and tablets path far behind. Desktop computer systems barely register.
This isn’t merely about affordability. It’s about behavior. Telephones are all the time current. They journey. They deal with funds. They retailer conversations. E-commerce has adjusted itself to that actuality moderately than making an attempt to reshape it.
Engagement knowledge follows the identical logic. Cellular apps lead utilization, adopted by social media platforms. Web site portals stay in circulation however not set the tempo.
The report’s language is restrained, however the implication is evident. The centre of gravity has moved. Digital retail technique in Kenya now begins with the telephone or dangers being peripheral.
Retailers adapt, informally and at scale
Giant retailers have seen. For the reason that pandemic years, chains resembling Quickmart, Carrefour, and Naivas have invested closely in their very own cellular apps. These apps supply stock visibility, supply choices, and loyalty programmes designed for repeat use moderately than informal searching.
Earlier marketplaces resembling Jumia, Kilimall, and Jiji helped normalise on-line shopping for. The present part builds on that basis however pulls transactions nearer to retailers themselves.
On the different finish of the market, the change has been sooner and extra improvised. Small sellers of garments, magnificence merchandise, furnishings, and family items depend on Instagram posts, TikTok movies, and WhatsApp standing updates. Their outlets refresh day by day. Their customer support runs repeatedly.
For a lot of of those sellers, a web site would add friction moderately than scale back it. Social platforms already ship attain. Messaging handles negotiation. Cellular cash closes the loop.
Native platforms dominate, hybrids multiply
Home on-line shops account for practically half of e-commerce utilization, in response to the CA. Marketplaces and social commerce collectively comply with, reflecting the energy of peer-to-peer promoting and casual retail.
Cross-border platforms resembling Amazon nonetheless draw curiosity, particularly for electronics and specialised items. Their share sits beneath home choices however stays vital.
A notable portion of shoppers mix channels. They could uncover a product on social media, evaluate costs on a market, and full the acquisition by means of an area vendor. This sample suggests pragmatism moderately than loyalty. Consumers assemble their very own routes primarily based on worth, availability, and supply confidence.
The market rewards flexibility. Platforms that lock customers into inflexible flows wrestle to maintain tempo.
Funds stay cellular, belief stays uneven
Cellular cash underpins practically two-thirds of all e-commerce funds in Kenya. Its position is sensible moderately than symbolic. It really works rapidly, integrates with telephones, and helps small transactions with out ceremony.
Money on supply nonetheless accounts for a significant share, pointing to persistent warning. Some consumers want to see items earlier than parting with cash. Playing cards and financial institution transfers seem primarily in higher-value or extra formal purchases.
Supply selections echo this warning. Courier companies lead, however assortment factors and in-person pickup stay widespread. Bodily handover continues to hold weight, particularly the place product high quality is unsure.
The infrastructure exists. Confidence varies.
Friction that refuses to vanish
Progress has not erased obstacles. Excessive supply prices rank among the many most cited frustrations. Fraud issues comply with intently. Connectivity points and energy interruptions nonetheless disrupt transactions.
Product accuracy stands out as a deeper fault line. Greater than half of customers report encountering inaccurate descriptions not less than sometimes. Almost one in 5 say it occurs usually.
In a system constructed on direct interplay, this inconsistency carries penalties. Belief erodes quietly, buy by buy. Sellers who depend on pace and quantity face strain to tighten requirements or threat dropping repeat prospects.
The place this path leads
Kenya’s e-commerce economic system has chosen its type. It’s mobile-first by behavior, conversational by design, and casual on the edges. Makes an attempt to drag it again towards website-centric fashions are more likely to wrestle.
The subsequent part will hinge on credibility. Higher product data, predictable supply pricing, and dispute decision that matches chat-based commerce will form who thrives. Platforms that respect how folks already purchase, moderately than instructing them tips on how to purchase, will set the tempo.
For now, the telephone stays the store. All the things else orbits round it.
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