Kenya’s e-commerce economy no longer gathers around a browser window. It unfolds inside phones, often without a homepage ever loading.
New data from the Communications Authority of Kenya points to a market that has reorganised itself around mobile apps and messaging tools. Orders are placed, confirmed, debated, and paid for inside compact digital spaces that blur shopping with everyday communication. Websites still exist, but they no longer anchor the experience.
This evolution has not arrived with fanfare. It has crept into daily routines. A WhatsApp chat becomes a catalogue. A payment prompt closes a deal. A delivery rider completes the transaction. The entire arc fits inside a device already used for work, gossip, and news.
The CA survey, covering July 2024 to June 2025, shows mobile apps now account for nearly half of all online orders. WhatsApp follows close behind as a major commercial channel. Traditional websites trail far back.
What emerges is not a tech story in the abstract, but a behavioural one. Kenyans have shaped e-commerce around how they already live on their phones.
Shopping by conversation, not navigation
WhatsApp’s rise as a shopping channel says less about design and more about trust and familiarity. Buyers ask questions the way they would in a physical shop. Sellers respond in real time, sometimes with voice notes, sometimes with photos taken on the spot. Prices move. Delivery details are agreed upon. Payment happens instantly.
This conversational rhythm explains why mobile apps dominate order placement at 44.8 percent, while WhatsApp alone captures over 20 percent. Websites, structured around browsing and checkout flows, account for just 12 percent.
Email and phone calls remain part of the picture, but largely as follow-up tools. They appear late in the process, after decisions are made. Nearly one in ten shoppers use several channels in a single purchase, drifting from social media discovery to chat negotiation to app-based payment.
The boundaries between browsing, bargaining, and buying have thinned. Commerce now sits comfortably inside everyday talk.
A market built for the small screen
Access patterns reinforce this behaviour. More than seven in ten Kenyans shop online using mobile phones. Laptops and tablets trail far behind. Desktop computers barely register.
This is not simply about affordability. It is about habit. Phones are always present. They travel. They handle payments. They store conversations. E-commerce has adjusted itself to that reality rather than trying to reshape it.
Engagement data follows the same logic. Mobile apps lead usage, followed by social media platforms. Website portals remain in circulation but no longer set the pace.
The report’s language is restrained, but the implication is clear. The centre of gravity has moved. Digital retail strategy in Kenya now starts with the phone or risks being peripheral.
Retailers adapt, informally and at scale
Large retailers have noticed. Since the pandemic years, chains such as Quickmart, Carrefour, and Naivas have invested heavily in their own mobile apps. These apps offer inventory visibility, delivery options, and loyalty programmes designed for repeat use rather than casual browsing.
Earlier marketplaces such as Jumia, Kilimall, and Jiji helped normalise online buying. The current phase builds on that foundation but pulls transactions closer to retailers themselves.
At the other end of the market, the change has been faster and more improvised. Small sellers of clothes, beauty products, furniture, and household goods rely on Instagram posts, TikTok videos, and WhatsApp status updates. Their shops refresh daily. Their customer service runs continuously.
For many of these sellers, a website would add friction rather than reduce it. Social platforms already deliver reach. Messaging handles negotiation. Mobile money closes the loop.
Local platforms dominate, hybrids multiply
Domestic online outlets account for nearly half of e-commerce usage, according to the CA. Marketplaces and social commerce together follow, reflecting the strength of peer-to-peer selling and informal retail.
Cross-border platforms such as Amazon still draw interest, especially for electronics and specialised goods. Their share sits below domestic options but remains significant.
A notable portion of consumers blend channels. They might discover a product on social media, compare prices on a marketplace, and complete the purchase through a local seller. This pattern suggests pragmatism rather than loyalty. Shoppers assemble their own routes based on price, availability, and delivery confidence.
The market rewards flexibility. Platforms that lock users into rigid flows struggle to keep pace.
Payments remain mobile, trust remains uneven
Mobile money underpins nearly two-thirds of all e-commerce payments in Kenya. Its role is practical rather than symbolic. It works quickly, integrates with phones, and supports small transactions without ceremony.
Cash on delivery still accounts for a meaningful share, pointing to persistent caution. Some buyers prefer to see goods before parting with money. Cards and bank transfers appear mainly in higher-value or more formal purchases.
Delivery choices echo this caution. Courier services lead, but collection points and in-person pickup remain common. Physical handover continues to carry weight, especially where product quality is uncertain.
The infrastructure exists. Confidence varies.
Friction that refuses to disappear
Growth has not erased obstacles. High delivery costs rank among the most cited frustrations. Fraud concerns follow closely. Connectivity issues and power interruptions still disrupt transactions.
Product accuracy stands out as a deeper fault line. More than half of shoppers report encountering inaccurate descriptions at least occasionally. Nearly one in five say it happens often.
In a system built on direct interaction, this inconsistency carries consequences. Trust erodes quietly, purchase by purchase. Sellers who rely on speed and volume face pressure to tighten standards or risk losing repeat customers.
Where this path leads
Kenya’s e-commerce economy has chosen its form. It is mobile-first by habit, conversational by design, and informal at the edges. Attempts to pull it back toward website-centric models are likely to struggle.
The next phase will hinge on credibility. Better product information, predictable delivery pricing, and dispute resolution that fits chat-based commerce will shape who thrives. Platforms that respect how people already buy, rather than instructing them how to buy, will set the pace.
For now, the phone remains the shop. Everything else orbits around it.
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