Ever tried buying something online in Uganda? Let me tell you my story. Last month, I ordered a phone case from a “trusted” Facebook seller. Three weeks later, I’m still waiting, with nothing but excuses about “logistics challenges.” That’s just how online shopping works here – or rather, how it doesn’t work. While the rest of the world enjoys same-day deliveries and seamless returns, we’re stuck in a digital marketplace that feels like it’s still figuring out what the internet is. Let me break down why clicking “buy now” in Uganda still feels like gambling with your money.
Delivery Is a Complete Mess
Getting stuff delivered in Uganda is a real headache. If you stay outside Kampala, just forget about receiving your package on time – that’s if it ever arrives at all. With only 20% of our roads properly tarmacked, delivery guys struggle to reach many places.
There’s also the home addressing problem. Ever tried explaining where you live to a delivery person? “Take the dusty road past the big mango tree, then look for the blue gate next to the small shop selling airtime.” That’s our GPS system! Delivery agents waste hours making endless phone calls trying to locate you.
My friend Joan ordered baby clothes from an online shop in Kampala while staying in Jinja. The seller promised delivery in two days. The package arrived after two weeks, with the clothes now too small for her growing baby. That’s our reality.
Those Crazy Delivery Fees Will Shock You
The delivery costs alone can make you abandon your cart quickly. Some online stores in Uganda charge delivery fees that reach 30% of your order value for smaller purchases!
What’s worse, many sellers have turned delivery into a profit making venture. A boda ride from Kampala CBD to Wandegeya costs around 3,000 shillings, yet online shops will charge you 15,000 to deliver a package to same location, pocketing 12,000 as pure profit from delivery fees alone. Are they into e-commerce or logistics business? I can’t tell!
And if you order multiple items from the same store? Expect to pay separate delivery fees for each item. They won’t consolidate your orders to save you money. It’s like they’re saying, “Thanks for buying more from us – now pay us more to deliver it!”
Trust Issues Are Real
There’s a reason why many Ugandans don’t trust online shopping. We’ve all heard the horror stories or experienced them firsthand.
My cousin paid 1.5 million shillings for what was advertised as a genuine iPhone on a popular shopping site. What arrived was a cheap Chinese counterfeit that didn’t even have a working camera. When he tried contacting the seller, they had already disappeared with his money.
These notorious sellers are specifically on social media platforms such as Facebook and TikTok. They post flashy products, collect payments, then either ghost you completely or send items nothing like what they advertised. Even the more legitimate platforms like Jumia struggle with quality control, allowing sellers to list counterfeit products.
Is it any wonder that most of us would rather spend an hour haggling at a physical shop in Kikuubo than risk our hard-earned money online?
What You See Is Never What You Get
Product listings in Ugandan online shops are like playing lottery. That gorgeous dress in the picture? It’s probably just a stock image from China. The description says “good quality shirt” – but what does that even mean?
Sizing is another nightmare, especially with clothes. An “XL” could arrive looking like it was made for a child. Electronics might have completely different specifications than advertised. That “64GB” memory card often turns out to be 8GB with a fake label.
And returns? That’s another joke. Most platforms don’t have proper refund policies. If they do, good luck actually getting your money back. You will spend weeks chasing customer service on WhatsApp, getting responses like “We will check and get back to you” before they eventually stop replying altogether.
We Ugandans like to touch, feel, and test products before buying. Online shopping simply can’t give us that experience, which is why disappointment is almost guaranteed.
Not Built for Ordinary Ugandans
Online shopping in Uganda seems designed only for a small group – young, urban dwellers with some cash to spare. But that’s not most of us. With 41% of Ugandans living below the poverty line, most people are buying daily essentials like food items, charcoal, or sugar – not fancy gadgets or imported fashion.
Our local informal markets – the street vendors, roadside stalls, and neighborhood dukas – already serve these needs perfectly. They offer better prices, immediate delivery (you carry it home yourself), and built-in trust because you’ve bought from the same vendor for years.
Even during the COVID lockdowns when online shopping saw a boost, it was just a temporary solution, not a new way of life. Most platforms haven’t figured out how to serve average Ugandans’ everyday needs at prices they can afford.
The “Bayilibi” Problem
Ever wondered why that seller took forever to confirm your order? It’s because most online sellers in Uganda are just brokers (bayilibi). They don’t actually have any stock.
They will happily advertise products they don’t own, then scramble to source them from suppliers after you place an order. This is why you will wait hours only to receive the heartbreaking message: “Sorry, that item is out of stock.”
These middlemen also inflate prices ridiculously. An item that costs 50,000 shillings in town might be listed at 80,000 online so they can pocket the difference. Among these bayilibi are the worst scammers who sell counterfeits as genuine products. That “original” perfume might just be colored water in a fake bottle.
Customer Service? What Customer Service?
Got a problem with your order? Good luck getting help. Customer service in Ugandan online shops is practically non-existent.
Most sellers operate through a single WhatsApp number that might respond three days later with a cold “Sorry for inconvenience” – if you’re lucky enough to get any response at all. There are no call centers, no dedicated support teams, nothing. Just you and your frustration.
Try getting a refund or warranty service and you’ll quickly learn that phrases like “satisfaction guaranteed” mean absolutely nothing. The most common response is “sorry, next time” – as if you’d ever order from them again!
Why Pay More for Local Products?
This one really makes no sense. Why would I buy a bar of White Star soap online for 8,000 shillings, pay another 20,000 for delivery, and wait 12 hours to receive it – when I can walk to my local duka and get the same soap for 5,000 with no wait at all?
Local e-commerce fails completely when it comes to everyday items. The convenience factor disappears when you realize you’re paying nearly triple the price and waiting half a day for something you could get in five minutes.
Scammers Rule the Digital Market
Most online shopping in Uganda happens on social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok. Since these platforms don’t have proper e-commerce policies or buyer protection, scammers have turned them into their personal hunting grounds.
They run all sorts of schemes: demanding advance payments for products that never arrive, charging delivery fees with no intention of delivering, selling cheap counterfeits as premium products – the list goes on.
My neighbor lost 250,000 shillings to a Facebook seller who advertised a beautiful sofa set. After paying a “booking fee,” the seller disappeared. No sofa, no refund, just a painful lesson about online shopping in Uganda.
Those Painful Websites and Apps
Using most local online shopping websites feels like traveling back to the early 2000s internet. Except for a few foreign-owned sites like Jumia and Jiji, local e-commerce websites are painfully bad.
Most are just basic WordPress templates with little customization. The user interface is clunky, pages load slowly, and the checkout process has more steps than a traditional dance. Many aren’t even mobile-responsive, despite most Ugandans accessing the internet primarily through phones.
I once spent 30 minutes trying to place an order on a popular local website. After filling out all my details and payment information, the site crashed at the final step. When I called the seller, they casually told me, “Oh, our website has issues. Just send us your order on WhatsApp instead.” Why have a website if you can’t take orders through it?
The Annoying “DM for Price” Culture
This might be the most frustrating practice of all, especially common on social media. Sellers post attractive products with flashy photos but zero information about price or specifications.
When you comment asking about the price, they reply with that dreaded phrase: “DM for price.” Why the secrecy? It feels like they’re setting up a negotiation where they will gauge how much they can squeeze from you based on your profile picture.
Even worse, many don’t even respond to those DMs! You’re left wondering why they bothered advertising in the first place. Is it just to boost their follower count? To appear like a legitimate business? Whatever the reason, it wastes everyone’s time.
So Where Do We Go From Here?
Until Ugandan online shops fix these basic problems, most of us will stick to the traditional way of shopping. We will continue visiting physical stores where we can see, touch, and verify products before handing over our money.
For online shopping to truly take off in Uganda, we need reliable delivery systems, proper consumer protection, transparent pricing, quality control, and actual customer service. We need sellers who actually stock what they advertise and websites that don’t crash every five minutes.
Until then, I will be at the local market, buying my White Star soap for 5,000 shillings, knowing exactly what I’m getting and when – which is right now, in my hand, with no delivery fee or disappointment.
Have you had your own online shopping nightmare in Uganda? I bet you have – we all do. But maybe one day, things will change. Until then, buyer beware!
TAGS:
Ugandan delivery services, Kampala online stores, Uganda e-commerce trust issues, Ugandan online payment problems, shopping websites Uganda, social media sellers Uganda, online shopping bayilibi, Uganda customer service, Uganda counterfeit products, Uganda digital marketplace
