Established ecommerce companies in Africa are gearing up for Black Friday, the last Friday of November, traditionally set aside for online shoppers and bargain hunters with discounts and deals dominating the virtual shopping landscape.

Jumia is hoping to surpass last year's figures including a tenfold increase in sales and 1.5million visits to the site.

The online shopping mall has reportedly teamed up with partners Binatone, Injoo, Infinix and MTN ahead of Black Friday this week, beginning on 27 November.

This is the second edition of the international shopping day for Jumia Kenya, which first introduced it to the Kenyan market in 2014.

In that year the company is said to have increased its sales by 900%. However, as MD Parinaz Firozi explains, while consumer confidence and preference for online shopping has grown, a lot remains to be done to boost e-commerce in the East African region – including lowering the cost of data to increasing broadband and high speed internet connections in rural areas.

"You will notice that most people shop online while at work where internet connections are more stable and advanced than at home," said Firozi.

Clive Maher, MD of Johannesburg-based global retailer EET, estimates that in South Africa approximately 40% of the country's consumer base use ecommerce channels, but he foresees substantial growth in the next two to three years.

"South Africa is playing catchup compared to other regions in Africa, but there will be significant growth... retailers particularly will do well in this year's Black Friday," he says.

In Mozambique, ecommerce operator Compra.co.mz has stated that the economy needs more collaborative innovation, and there is evidence of this in its sector because of a push to bring quality products to consumers via the internet.

"We have also seen a significant improvement with other online companies changing strategies and becoming more legitimate in their operations and product selection as a result of our model," the company claims.

Jonathan Novotny, Director of Compra.co.mz, said the idea behind e-commerce and the motivation to grow it in Mozambique is to "open new channels of purchasing power for consumers."

Last year global network security firm Fortinet warned shoppers to be wary and offering tips for holiday shoppers:

• Shop only at those stores – online or offline – that you know and trust.

• Use a credit card as opposed to a debit card to ensure fraud protection.

• Use a credit card from a financial institution that offers one-time use, time-limited or virtual credit card numbers.

• When shopping online, be sure to transmit financial information via SSL for a secure connection.

• Only download shopping applications from an official app store; and delete the app if it asks for too much information at registration.

• Never click on a link in an email – especially if the email claims to be from your bank.

• Use a "Live CD" or dedicated browser when conducting online searches and shopping activities.