Nigeria’s online shoppers are buying through Facebook and leaning on artificial intelligence at rates that outstrip most of the 29 countries surveyed in DHL eCommerce’s newly released E-Commerce Trends Report 2026, placing the country among a small group of markets where consumer behaviour is running ahead of business capacity to serve it.
The report, drawn from 29,000 online shoppers and 5,800 e-commerce businesses across 29 countries, finds that 86 percent of Nigerian shoppers use Facebook to buy, against a global average of 63 percent. Instagram follows at 64 percent, compared with 48 percent globally, while TikTok stands at 56 percent against a global figure of 50 percent.
On artificial intelligence, 46 percent of Nigerian shoppers use AI-powered chat tools when shopping online, the fourth-highest share among the 29 countries, behind India, the UAE and China.
Among businesses, adoption runs deeper: 88 percent of Nigerian e-commerce companies already use some form of AI on their platforms, and 94 percent expect usage to rise over the next five years, both well above the global business averages of 67 percent and 70 percent.
Muyiwa Adeseyoju, country manager for DHL Express Nigeria, said the numbers reflect a market moving faster than many of its peers. “Nigeria is one of the most dynamic e-commerce markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, with strong digital adoption and an ambitious business community,” he said.
