Impact of Electronic Commerce on Kenyan Supermarkets

A Research Project Report Submitted to the School of Business in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) on corporate business strategy of supermarkets in the retail industry in Kenya. The study sought to answer the following research questions: How does E-Commerce processes affect the use of E-Commerce applications in selected retail businesses, how does the efficiency of E-Commerce affect the use of E-Commerce applications in Kenyan retail businesses, how do the Kenyan supermarkets view E-Commerce as an alternative trading platform? so as to increase the competitive advantage position of supermarkets in Kenya, especially with the threat of new entrants increasing. The study used explanatory research design as it sought to unveil the impact that E-Commerce has on the retail industry in Kenya, more specifically on supermarkets. It was administered through questionnaires consisting both open and close ended questions. The target population was drawn from supermarkets in Nairobi County as listed in the Nairobi Directory 2016. The sample was selected from the 52 supermarkets with 104 respondents, one senior employee both in the operations and finance departments of the selected supermarkets. This data was analysed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study observed E-Commerce process influence E-Commerce applications in Kenyan supermarkets to a great extent. This is substantiated by the fact that majority of the respondents as shown by 47.5 percent indicated that E-Commerce process influence E-Commerce applications in Kenyan supermarkets to a great extent. The respondents strongly agreed that E-Retail opportunities existed by using E-Commerce Applications but their supermarkets have not yet capitalized on these opportunities. However, the study observed that even the retailers themselves have challenges such as long uploading sessions, cost of setting up the E-Retail portal and having readily available stock for customers. This has hampered the adoption of E-Retail systems within the supermarkets. Respondents agreed that the Use of E-Commerce Applications increased efficiency of E-Commerce processes to a great extent with a 45% response rate. However, the study revealed that majority of the respondents disagreed that their supermarket converts browsers into loyal customers as shown by mean of 2.141, deliver products and services on a timely basis or even capture information on customers’ preferences. Additionally, it was noted that the majority of supermarkets did not even have E-Retail sites to service their customers as their use of internet, at the very least, was limited. 46.2 percent of the respondents agreed that Kenyan supermarkets view E-Commerce as an alternative trading platform to a great extent, according to the study. The main driver behind the adoption of E-Commerce as a trading platform was observed to the be competition. Notably, since there is limited use of the platform, the respondents acknowledged that their product lines have not expanded as a result, neither have their national or multinational dominance increased. Unfortunately, supermarkets have not leveraged on customer information for the effective management of customer relationships on the internet which would act as a strategy for them that can be used to gain competitive advantage. In conclusion, firstly, the study established that supermarkets have not fully moved to E-Retail business as embracing E-Retail was not the main focus for supermarkets. Secondly, E-Retail, where available, does not even provide customers with various self-service and delivery options hence not widely used in our supermarket. Thirdly, as an alternative trading platform, supermarkets were yet to adopt E-Commerce as an alternative to the brick and mortar albeit the existence of it as a mere strategy in their strategic plans. The study therefore recommends that adoption of E-Commerce and use of E-Retailing should be reinforced by management. If well adopted, supermarkets stand to increase efficiency and in turn converting mere browsers into loyal customers. If E-Commerce is to succeed as an alternative trading platform, good policies should be formulated to enable both users, customers and supermarkets to enjoy their shopping experiences online without hesitation or mishaps