Nigeria’s e-commerce sector is increasingly becoming overcrowded. With over $10 billion worth of opportunity to be exploited, the number of online retail platforms is rapidly edging closer to the hundred mark. However, of the many seeking to control a significant stake of the relatively new sector, only a few are attempting to corner lucrative niches for themselves. Household Max is one of those.

Spotting a largely untapped market for mums, Household Max moved late last year to launch a platform that carters specifically to their needs, particularly those joggling a tasking working career with the duties that come with being a mum. “If I may use myself as an example I’m a wife, I’m a mother of four kids, so many times I could be doing something important in the office or I could be in a business meeting and I’d need to pause of break to address something to do with my immediate or extended family or the home or my offices,” Aisha Tinubu, the Executive Director and founder of Household Max, said at the firm’s official launch. “Again been out of town does not take away these responsibilities either. As I always have to remotely have coordinate task around my family, the household and my offices and this is usually been done effectively, by me using technology and doing a lot online.”

It’s product categories and subcategories range from everyday stables like food and drinks to storing solutions, toiletries, kitchen essentials, bathroom and bed room essentials, general home appliances, laundry machines and equipments, babies’ kits and teens categories, health care, children’s health care, medical devices and equipments, beauty and fragrance, men’s essentials women’s essentials, wrist watches, gifts cards, luxury goods and plenty more.

Shopping patterns in Nigeria are gradually tilting towards online as mobile phones continue to play a more useful role beyond basic communications. Aisha believes this is shaped by concerns about traffic, security issues, time constraints, product availability in off line stores. As a result brick and mortar stores are gradually being overtaken by online stores.

Household Max is keen to remain at the front-row of this evolution by aiding professionals, families, households in ensuring their needs and aspirations are met and that their lifestyles are forgotten. In fact, it has embarked on a radical differentiation strategy in a bid to achieve its goal.

Overcrowding of markets often necessitate differentiation. This usually entails building a unique set of product, pricing, promotional or customer service strategies which separates your brand from the many. For Household Max, “creating those value-added services that our customers find invaluable and to help them by supporting the organization of their plans” is one of its key selling points. “Let me give you an example,” says Aisha. “Imagine you realize while you’re abroad that it’s your favourite nephew’s birthday is close and you didn’t remember to get him anything before you left, you can simply order a gift at householdmax.com, opt for us to include a personalized card for you and have it delivered just by clicking. Or let’s say you are in town and you just didn’t get the chance to get a gift for a friend or a colleague you can easily from your mobile device, simply purchase a gift from householdmax.com have it instantly emailed to your recipient and it really is that simple.”

Unlike most local e-commerce players, the online retailer encourages Nigerians in Diaspora by opening its payment platforms to international financial institutions. This it believes will aid Nigerians in diaspora to shop for ageing parents or loved ones back home without having to bear costly courier charges for delivery.

Market runs and traffic are usually for traditional shopper, particularly mums. But like Aisha noted, that can now be a thing of the past as even bulk purchases are now just a click away. As they say over at Household Max, click and you will receive.

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