Patrons of Cheki, Jumia and Konga – three popular Nigerian e-commerce sites – are mostly male, ages 35 to 40, and they have post-graduate degrees, according to Alexa, an analytics company.

Mobile data usage is surging on the continent, but persuading women to shop online is still a challenge in Nigeria. Nevertheless, Naspers, a South African multimedia company, recently raised its stake in Konga to 50 percent, according to a report in BusinessDay.

Although online content and data originating from Nigeria is miniscule, early movers are patiently taking a position at the lower end of the curve, the report said.

The Economist Intelligence Unit, a research and analysis company, compiled data on 25 cities in 19 African countries. City-level data and analysis reveal that consumption in Africa is greater in urban than rural areas.

A 2011 survey by Gallup found that the average mobile phone owner in sub-Sahara Africa is more likely to be male, educated and urban. In Nigeria, 77 percent of urban dwellers and 66 percent of rural residents said they had mobile phones. Three-quarters of the respondents aged 30 to 45 said they owned a mobile phone.

Average household income for most of those who reported mobile phone us was about $1,100, while household income for those without mobile phones was $740.

This pattern was common in all Sub-Saharan countries “where there is no statistical difference in per capita household income,” except Nigeria and three other countries, the report said.

Africa’s mobile data usage amounts to 14.85 percent of the total internet traffic – second only to Asia, according to consultancy Deloitt. Increased access to the Internet via mobile phones is highlighting differences in age, gender, education and location.

Abuja residents on average spend $2,185, a little more than Lagosians who spend $2,159. Abuja and Lagos are respectively, the second and third most expensive African cities, after Luanda in Angola.