CREATION OF ONLINE STORES FOR MARKETING OF INDIGENOUS PRODUCTS IN SOUTH EAST NIGERIA

Abstract

Web design and development is one the tools in the 21st century that has repositioned communication and interaction between individuals and companies or service providers. Online stores and e-commerce have also made goods and services more available and accessible to national and international levels. Despite the increasing rise in the number of e-commerce sites in Nigeria, it seems most online stores focus on the marketing of foreign products and a few of indigenous ones, hence the need for the study. This project focused on the creation of online stores for marketing of indigenous products in South East Nigeria. The practical significance of the study highlights the economic stability micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)could attain while using digital facilities in marketing of indigenous products in the South East region. The study considered the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to tackle the theoretical framework. Primary and secondary sources of data collection like sketches, photographs, and participant observation were used to drive home the objectives of the research. About twenty five local products were sourced from South East Nigeria, five from each state, and random sampling was done by the researcher to select seven products to become a yardstick to represent the others. Some of the findings made in this research include; local manufactures are ignorant to the use of online tools like online stores in the marketing of their products. Lack of finance and necessary technical knowledge is also discovered to be a factor hindering them from embracing online platforms. The study recommended that; government should encourage and equip local manufacturers through ICT trainings to be able to meet the demands of the time.