Trust remains a major challenge in Nigeria’s e-commerce landscape. This is why an overwhelming majority of Nigerian shoppers—about 95%—still prefer Pay on Delivery (PoD). While PoD offers convenience and builds trust for genuine customers, it’s unfortunately being exploited by a group of individuals who deliberately place orders they never intend to receive.
Over the past three years of building and growing Selligate, I’ve witnessed first-hand the emotional and financial pain e-commerce entrepreneurs go through. Behind every failed delivery is wasted money, wasted time, and the silent frustration of a business owner trying to grow.
The Ugly Truth About Serial Order Cancellers
These serial cancellers aren’t just changing their minds—they’ve made a habit out of gaming the system. And they’ve perfected several tactics to sabotage merchants. Here are seven common behaviors we’ve identified:
The Unreachable Number Trick
The order is placed with a phone number that’s perpetually unreachable—calls don’t go through, and messages bounce.The “I Don’t Pick Unknown Numbers” Excuse
These customers ignore every attempt to contact them, then claim they don’t pick calls from strangers—even though they placed the order online with strangers.The Classic “I’ll Get Back to You” Lie
They sound polite and interested, but they never get back to you. It’s an endless loop of empty promises.The Fake Travel Story
They claim to be out of town, but that story rarely adds up. In most cases, they’re just buying time—or intentionally stalling.The Immediate Cancellation
Some customers cancel their orders within minutes of placing them. Call them 10 minutes after, and they’ve already “changed their mind.”The Serial Appointment Setter
“Call me tomorrow,” “Come next week,” “Let’s reschedule again.” These customers give never-ending appointments until you give up.The Worst Kind: The Delivery-Day Drama
These are the most frustrating ones. They confirm the order, assure you they’ll be home, and seem eager to receive the product. Then comes the real pain:They suddenly stop picking calls—even after 100 tries.
They switch off their phone or claim to have “moved.”
Some even show up at the delivery point, only to rehearse excuses on the spot—claiming the product is too small, too big, the wrong color, or arguing that they saw a different price online.
You hear things like: “I saw it for ₦6,500 online,” when your product actually costs ₦65,000.
These experiences are not just frustrating—they’re financially and emotionally draining, especially for small businesses working hard to grow their customer base.
How Selligate Is Tackling the Problem with AI
To address this widespread issue, Selligate has deployed artificial intelligence (AI) to help merchants detect high-risk orders before they waste valuable time and resources.
Our AI system is trained to identify patterns across the seven behaviors listed above. When a customer has displayed multiple default behaviors—especially three or more—the system flags that order as “risky.”
Here’s how it works:
Every time an order is placed through the Selligate platform, our AI references historical data from over 1 million processed orders.
It considers factors such as call pickup rates, appointment reschedules, delivery refusals, and other feedback collected by delivery agents and vendors.
Based on this data, the system determines whether an order is likely to be successful—or whether it’s safer to deprioritize or verify more cautiously.
Real Impact: Helping Merchants Deliver Smarter
Our AI model is already changing the game for many Nigerian e-commerce vendors.
By helping sellers focus on customers who are more likely to receive and pay for their orders, Selligate is:
Improving delivery success rates
Reducing logistics costs
Preventing emotional burnout for merchants
Empowering vendors to operate more confidently in a tough delivery environment
We’re not just solving a technology problem—we’re solving a trust problem. And we’re doing it in a way that protects the hardworking business owners who are driving the future of e-commerce in Nigeria.
Final Thoughts
The PoD model will remain essential in Nigeria for the foreseeable future. But without systems in place to deal with serial order cancellers, many small businesses will continue to suffer avoidable losses.
That’s why at Selligate, we’re committed to using data and intelligence to build trust, protect vendors, and transform the e-commerce delivery experience. AI isn’t just a buzzword for us—it’s a tool we’re using every day to solve real problems for real businesses.
If you’re a merchant struggling with frequent PoD order cancellations, it’s time to let Selligate AI work for you. Focus your energy on the right customers—and let technology handle the rest.
