E-Commerce in Sudan: The Modern Trade

If you can’t get a job, enter the market, do the work, and leave the rest to god’, said my late grandfather, who occupied a retail shop for over 40 years. Back then, not many jobs were offered. Competition was based on academic merits.

Fast forward to 2021, big changes occurring in the job market. However, many struggle with maintaining a sufficient source of income, as prices in Sudan continue to grow higher.

This led to many thinking about entering the market to acquire goods for low prices and sell them for higher. Though we are in modern times, interests differ nowadays. Displayed goods should resonate with a current need. Unlike slightly used utensils displayed at my grandfather’s shop, the need for smartphone chargers and protective covers dominates more now. Times have changed, and with it, peoples’ needs changed as well.

How things started

Similar to any other trade, e-commerce in Sudan was built on buying goods and selling them later with improved prices. However with e-commerce, the difference lies within marketing and communication. Common shops changed to become online stores, operating mostly on social media platforms. It is safe to say that such trade was not apparent before the new millennium. It only requires having an Internet connection, a niche to market, and a social media page. In the past, it was imperative to have the goods inside the shop ready for sell. Now, goods can be purchased later, as some online stores take customer orders, buy them from out of Sudan, and deliver them a while later.

Many online stores nowadays are managed by young individuals, some of them are university students working to cover for their daily expenses. Stores display various niches. Some concern themselves with beauty and care, some with lifestyle products, others with health and personal hygiene products, and many other types of marketable products.

The benefit

One of the biggest incentives that drive people to start an online store is the difficulty – or the lack there of – of obtaining certain global products. Due to trading sanctions – despite being alleviated, world-renowned companies haven’t yet fully entered the Sudanese markets. Therefore, many decided to seize the opportunity, get a hold of sought-after products, and make them available in Sudan through online platforms. With considerable profit margins, online trading gained more and more attention. The job is easy, almost effortless, and the only task to be done is maintain good communication with online customers.

On a positive note, e-commerce created chances for other side jobs, many motorbike-driving young men started working as delivery agents for online stores, delivering orders to customers in different locations across different states. They too make good money as the payment is by order, the more orders they deliver per day, the more income delivery agents generate.

With continuous growth, online trading required its own version of logistics and supply chain. A social page on Instagram for example may have behind it several people working in stages to make sure that business runs smoothly. Starting with exporting from overseas to shipping, then preparing products for photography, post them on social media, and at last, comes delivery. That is if the goods are not available inside Sudan. Some smart online traders take trips to grand wholesale markets to buy goods from there and display them later online with higher retail prices – not everyone is willing to go the distance to buy common needs. Examples of wholesale markets are Omdurman market, and Madani market.

Public effect of online stores

Since many are on their smartphones, engaging and interacting online, and spending hours browsing through social media. It became convenient to offer a chance for those viewers to do some shopping while browsing. Trips to grand markets started to grow estranged. Online stores’ owners work actively to make life easier for customers. For example. a number of online stores started providing daily groceries from fruits, meat and vegetables, offering fresh picks and lowered prices.

The public is showing signs of acceptance. In the capital city, Khartoum, many youngsters welcome the idea of stores selling products online. They comment on posts showing need and willingness to pay for products. There are online stores that achieved great success, moving to establish physical presence, welcoming numbers of visitors and potential customers.

It grew somewhat customary to buy gifts for loved ones from online shops. As they put thought and effort into wrapping and presentation, some stores carry out wrapping of traditional wedding gifts, setting the trend for how gifts should be wrapped.

The food industry has been revolutionised after online stores started to take part in the sector. Baking masters for example are now supplying restaurants and public bakeries with pastry and sweets while working from home. Others opted for opening their own shops and selling from there. Creating competition for early established places.

An example of a business that started as an online store and successfully proceeded to set up shop is Your Gift Guffa, which was established in 2017 as an online gift store, tending to newly weds and those who would like to show affection to their loved ones through presenting them with nicely looking gift boxes. A box may contain various things including perfumes and beauty products, chocolates and/or sweets, jewelry, love notes and more.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Your Gift Guffa-قفة فرح (@guffatfarah)

Cinnamon Re is another example of success. This pastry shop specialises in cinnamon rolls with various flavours, which are deemed by many fans as ‘quite tasty’. Cinnamon Re was established in 2019, which formerly functioned from home and used online platforms such as social media to sell their sweet rolls.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cinamonre (@cinnamon__re)

These two stores are clearly doing something right if they managed to move from simple online stores to physical shops on the map, performing their niche to a standard, which enabled them to afford expansion.

The value of online trading

Online shopping or e-commerce has changed the market in Sudan. They massively leaped during lockdown when people were unable to leave their homes, so they had to find other solutions such as going online to secure their needs. Here came e-commerce into play.

Nevertheless, it is not easy to determine whether online shopping will completely take over the market or not. Old fashioned shopping is practiced, yet to date, some grand markets are considered landmarks and the public cannot simply move past them. However, the need to cope with the modern age is a necessity. This persuaded many companies and wholesalers to enter the online world with all their might in attempt to regain and maintain any customer that decided to go with the easy option of shopping online.

---

Tony Malik is an IT graduate of National Ribat University (Class of 2013), residing in Sudan and the UAE. His professional background includes marketing, IT, writing & translation, and business administration. He is a former writer for Sudan365.net and Goethe Institute-Sudan, and a member of German-Sudanese cooperation group.