The perception of supermarkets in Nairobi on the use of e-marketing

Abstract

This study was conducted with the objective of determining the awareness of e-marketing by the supermarkets in Nairobi. The study also set to determine the perception of supermarkets in Nairobi on the use of e-marketing as a marketing tool To achieve the above objectives, primary data was collected from fifty supermarkets in the city. The supermarkets were selected from among the small, medium, and large size supermarkets. The researcher adopted the list of supermarkets and the categories (i.e small, medium and large) from an earlier study that was conducted in the year 2000. Analysis of the data indicated that most supermarkets irrespective of their sizes were aware of e-marketing. Though most of them have heard of e-marketing and they understand that it involves the use of the Internet, they are yet to fully understand the concept of e-marketing, The results also showed that most supermarkets in Nairobi perceive e-marketing positively. The findings from the analysis led to following conclusions: • Most supermarkets view or understand e-marketing in a very narrow sense, that is, it involves selling and advertising on the Internet. • Supermarkets perceive e-marketing as being insecure, complex and costly. This perception needs to be corrected. • Most supermarkets have not formed a strong and concrete perception about e-marketing. The possible conclusion is that the technology is still new in Kenya and supermarkets need to be educated further about this new marketing tool.