Nigerian SME Report 2026: The Categories Growing Fastest on Video Commerce
Every six months, we analyse transaction data from across the Luuk platform to understand where growth is happening, where competition is intensifying, and where early movers still have room to build significant businesses. This is the June 2026 edition of that analysis.
We reviewed 180,000 completed transactions across 14 product categories. Here's what the data shows.
The four fastest-growing categories
1. Children's products (clothing, shoes, toys)
Children's products grew 340% year-on-year on Luuk. The reason is structural: parents constantly need products in sizes that are quickly outgrown, making secondhand a genuinely smart choice rather than a compromise. Video commerce works particularly well here because parents need to see the actual condition of secondhand items before buying for their children.
Competition is still relatively low compared to fashion. The top sellers in this category are making ₦300,000–₦600,000 per month with relatively modest catalogues (40–80 active listings).
2. Home and kitchen appliances (small appliances)
Blenders, electric kettles, standing fans, air fryers. The small appliance category grew 280% YoY and has one structural advantage that makes it perfect for video commerce: demonstration. A buyer watching a blender actually blend, a kettle boil, an air fryer cook — that's a buying decision made in 60 seconds. Returns in this category are 80% lower than in fashion because video leaves no ambiguity about condition and function.
3. Handmade and artisan goods
This is the category that most surprised us. Handmade jewellery, hand-dyed fabrics, custom bags, craft foods (chin-chin, zobo, custom cakes for orders) — all growing at 260% YoY. The reason: handmade goods have a story, and video is the ideal format for telling it. A one-minute video of an artisan making a piece of jewellery converts at 3× the rate of a static product photo.
Margins in this category are also the highest on the platform. A seller of handmade leather bags with no competitors at their quality level is pricing on perceived value, not market competition.
4. Health and wellness products
Skincare, supplements, fitness equipment, and personal care grew 220% YoY. Trust is the central issue in this category — buyers need to believe the product is genuine and effective before purchasing something they'll use on or in their body. Video — especially video that includes before/after documentation and real user testimonials — is uniquely suited to building that trust.
Categories showing signs of saturation
Fashion (women's clothing) is increasingly competitive. The top quartile of fashion sellers are still growing strongly, but new entrants are finding it harder to break through. If you're entering fashion now, you need a genuine differentiator: a specific niche (modest fashion, plus sizes, a particular style), an unusually strong video presence, or a price point that the market isn't serving.
Phone accessories are saturated. The volume is there but the margins have been competed away. Avoid unless you have a specific wholesale supply advantage.
The geography of opportunity
Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano are all significantly under-served compared to Lagos on the seller side. Buyers from these cities are active on Luuk but frequently ordering from Lagos sellers, which means delivery times and costs are higher than they need to be. A seller operating from Abuja or Port Harcourt with good video quality has a structural advantage in serving local buyers — same-day or next-day delivery at lower cost — that a Lagos seller simply cannot match.
"The highest-opportunity move for a seller in Abuja right now is to explicitly mention 'Abuja seller, same-city delivery available' in every video. That information converts at a rate that no price discount can match."
What to do with this data
If you're an existing seller: look at whether your category is in growth or saturation. If saturation, consider whether you can pivot to an adjacent category where your existing supplier relationships give you an edge. If you're in a growth category, the single most important thing is to increase your catalogue and your posting frequency before the window narrows.
If you're a new seller: children's products or handmade goods are the clearest opportunities right now — low competition, high growth, and well-suited to video storytelling. Pick one, go deep, and build before the window closes.