Superstores bring new shopping experience to consumers

In the 80s, Kingsway and Leventis stores were the two most reputable highbrow superstores in Nigeria, which catered to the needs of everyone who could afford it. Their wide range of services included the sale of electronics, office equipment, household items, frozen foods, provisions, toiletries, children’s wears and toys, among others.

Today, the presence of mega stores like Shoprite and Game at The Palms Shopping Mall, Lekki, Spar and Park ‘n’ Shop shopping centre, Goodies, Cherries, Vcare, YES, Shop direct, Grocery Bazzar, Deepstores etc. in Nigeria, has no doubt brought about a major change in the shopping experience of Nigerians. The culture of buying frozen soup, for instance – be it local or foreign – is more redefined with the presence of different classes of shoppers at Shoprite.

Of course, this list would include the one-stop-shop where consumers can get all their shopping needs conveniently.

A walk into a superstore on the Lagos Island, one of the stores that have become famous among the upper and middle classes, for instance, would hold consumers spellbound – why? with the array of beautifully arranged red and green coloured peppers. And, just by them is a stand for potatoes, bananas, apples, groundnuts, coconuts, onions, spring onions, among others. And only a step further, on a long stretch of deep freezers would be noticed different sizes of ice-cream bowls nicely arranged and tucked not too far away from a variety of poultry products. These and much more are what a typical grocery store has to offer.

For the upwardly mobile consumer, grocery stores provide ready conveniences of sorts; not only for bachelors, but even married men and women who are rather too busy to visit local markets due to work pressure and for the purpose of quality.

So stress free are these shopping malls and outlets now, that they have even gone a step further to cater to the needs of the upwardly mobile men and women, providing different kinds of Nigerian soups and more. There are also different varieties of seasoned chicken, beef, pork and more, depending on the taste of the consumer. Their prices vary, depending on the weight, and interestingly, they are much cheaper than what many people think. A pack of beef is between N700 and N1, 000, same for seasoned whole chicken or its parts.

Charity Olisehemeke, a banker, who finds the various soups sold at Shoprite convenient to eat, says “I work till late into the night, and most times it could be very difficult preparing a decent meal as late as 11pm. So, I prefer to buy the soup because all I need do is to put it in the microwave and within few minutes, it will be ready to eat.”

These superstores’ strength lies in its spread and excellent commitment to quality service and delivery.

Today, there are more of these shopping malls strategically located in different parts of the country. For instance, Spar, The Game, Mega Plaza and Shoprite, have become a household name in modern shopping, and is fast expanding business, which obviously is a great testimony to the fact that it is doing excellently well, as business has been very good.

Studies also reveal that the outlets, which these shopping malls and outfits parade, are of exquisite furnished taste and standard as they are fully stocked all-year-round, offering the widest range of products – over 25,000 products – to their discerning patrons. There is no denying the fact that these malls are further boosting their stock in wines and spirits, liquor, confectionary/snacks, electronics, domestic appliances, office equipment/stationery, toiletries, dairy/cold store products, sports equipment, travel equipment, furniture, textiles and fabrics, lighting, to mention a few.

By: Anne Agbaje