SOCIAL MEDIA AND E-COMMERCE IN POST-COVID ERA: EXPLORING A NEW PARADIGM FOR BUSINESS SURVIVAL IN AFRICA

Abstract

It is a truism that humanity is steeped into the new normal; no thanks to the COVID-19 Pandemic, which was not only a global phenomenon but a devastating one as that, with humongous implications across every field of human endeavour. As nations and nationalities grapple with the effects of the Pandemic, new economic and business models have evolved; one such is the interface of e-commerce with social media. Anchored on the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989), the study design is conceptual with the aims of exploring social media in the light of e-commerce for a developing economy and proposing a new business model as a means of survival in an unpredictable environment. The study therefore recommends constant and real-time engagement of customers and potential customers through social media as many online buyers more often than not, reach purchase decisions after consulting friends online and reading recommendations, reviews and comments of others on a particular product or service. Furthermore, due to the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic and its concomitant resurgent waves, e-commerce should be the model of choice for business survival in Nigeria, the African continent and the world at large.