The advent of eCommerce in Nigeria has brought about diverse payment options for goods and services and Furniture industry can not be under emphasised in terms of payment options.
Therefore in considerations of these payment options, online transactions literally should enjoy a high percentage of sales but we are behind in solving this market friction due to many factors such as government policies, poor delivery system, trust, availability of kiosks, internet fraud and of course the Cash on Delivery as a payment option.
One of the many reasons that shareholders and pundits cite as a reason why eCommerce is still in its infancy in Nigeria is the availability of Cash on Delivery (COD) as a payment option and its unreliability nature.
Lower ‘’successful’’ deliveries in Nigeria are usually blamed on COD as a payment option as many online shoppers are likely to change their minds.
Why a paid order? Why not Cash on Delivery?
Let’s consider some of the benefits of placing an order on Cash on Delivery (COD) as a payment option.
Trust:
Customer’s preference for payment on delivery ranges from one situation to another. Fear of being scammed or duped when an order has been paid for as payment on delivery gives the chance to avoid being scammed and also to authenticate the genuineness of the item., more so, some online sites deliver less the value of what the customer ordered.
Until when the order is delivered at the customer's step, their trust remains fluttering.
Hassle-Free Transaction :
Another great benefit of COD is that transaction is hassle-free. You primarily bring out cash when you have received a satisfactory service or product.
You don’t have to go through the process of entering the digits on your debit card or the banking hall activities all because you want to deposit cash for a service/product.
Protection from fraud :
Online transaction is characterized by all shades of fraud if due diligence is not carried out. You have to be extremely careful when providing your card details online so you don’t position yourself to card fraud. However, this can be avoided with COD.
COD as a payment option gives room to avert the above points but in the case of selecting this payment option for furniture related products especially for customers who are outside the physical presence of the seller becomes imperative for payment to be made.
Let’s consider why furniture and other heavy-duty products should be exempted
Economic Wastage :
In most cases, payment on delivery leads to economic wastage. Merchant/seller has incurred a cost to procure or construct an item, incurred shipping cost only for such item to get rejected upon delivery. Who bears the cost on what transaction?
Prone to damages :
Unlike handy items that can be well protected in transit, furniture is not like that. The handling of any furniture right from the beginning of the supply chain till it gets to the customer and back to the seller when returned positioned such furniture to be damaged especially when a third party is employed to handle the delivery.
The high rate of return :
Orders with payment on delivery often give room for lower ‘’successful’’ deliveries as against paid order.
eCommerce gives convenience and the payment option should do the same. Although each payment options has its pros and cons.
At Hog Furniture, payment on delivery are available to customers within Lagos and Ogun State and whose order is below the value of 200,000, if above, a commitment is required. However, for customers outside these 2 states, outright payment is required as we cannot do the payment on delivery to areas where we don’t have a physical presence.
It’s risky to make a payment online for goods that you have not received, it’s more risky to move goods outside the warehouse when our cash on delivery limit is exceeded or when a deposit is not made for customers outside the areas of physical presence.
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