How Nigerian businesses are using behavioural science to solve real problems

The small shop owner in Balogun Market who places her most expensive wares at eye level isn’t just arranging merchandise—she’s practicing advanced behavioural science without knowing its academic name. Nigerian businesses have long employed psychological tactics that would make a Harvard professor nod in appreciation.

Imagine walking into a typical Lagos bank branch five years ago. The queues stretched into infinity; customer frustration condensed into a physical atmosphere that hung heavy in the air. Now visit those same banks today. Something remarkable has happened – a subtle choreography of experience has emerged. It wasn’t technology alone that transformed the experience; it was the deliberate application of behavioural insights that made the difference.

“We realized that perceived waiting time matters more than actual waiting time,” explains a customer experience consultant who has worked with three of Nigeria’s largest banks. “By redesigning spaces to include digital displays with financial tips, ensuring staff-maintained eye contact, and creating clearer visual queuing systems, we reduced complaint rates by 37% without actually processing transactions any faster.”

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What Funmi describes isn’t just customer service improvement – it’s applied behavioural science, specifically the principle of ‘occupied time’ feeling shorter than ‘unoccupied time.’ This principle, documented by behavioural economists like Daniel Kahneman, is being weaponized by Nigerian businesses to solve practical problems without massive infrastructure investments.

The revolution isn’t limited to corporate environments. At Amoke Amala food stall in Surulere, customers willingly wait for her signature amala even when faster options abound. Her technique is to make the preparation visible, lets customers watch as she carefully selects ingredients for each order, creating what behavioural scientists call “the IKEA effect” – we value things more when we witness their creation. This performative preparation doesn’t improve taste, but brain scans would show it activates the same neural reward pathways as actually consuming better food.

Behavioural science operates on a simple premise that humans are predictably irrational. We don’t make decisions based on careful analysis of facts but through mental shortcuts shaped by context, environment, and subtle psychological cues. What’s fascinating is how Nigerian entrepreneurs instinctively grasp these principles with an academic background in psychology, turning them into practical business advantages.

A good example is PiggyVest, the savings platform that has helped millions of Nigerians develop savings habits where traditional banking failed. Their core innovation wasn’t technological – it was psychological. By making savings automatic, slightly difficult to withdraw, and visualizing progress, they employed what behavioural scientists call “commitment devices” and “the endowment effect” to overcome our natural tendency to prioritize immediate gratification.

“We found that adding a small withdrawal fee was actually a feature, not a penalty,” reveals a product designer who worked on an early version of a similar fintech app. “It created just enough friction to make people reconsider impulsive withdrawals, helping them achieve their actual goal of saving more.”

This approach – using subtle barriers as features rather than bugs – represents sophisticated behavioural architecture. It acknowledges that people often need protection from their own worst impulses. Nigerian businesses are increasingly designing products not for our rational, planning selves but for our emotional, present-biased reality.

Even traditional retailers are becoming behavioural scientists. Walk into a certain Mall in Lagos and observe how product placement, music tempo, and even scent distribution is carefully orchestrated to influence purchasing decisions. The slow-tempo music played during weekday mornings isn’t random – studies show it extends shopping time by nearly 15% compared to fast-tempo alternatives.

What’s most remarkable about Nigeria’s behavioural evolution is how it democratizes business advantage. Unlike technological innovations requiring massive capital investment, behavioural insights can be applied by businesses of any size. The roadside phone accessory vendor who offers free screen cleaning isn’t just providing service – he’s activating reciprocity bias, one of the most powerful psychological triggers for subsequent purchases.

The deeper implication here extends beyond business tricks. When Nigerian companies design around actual human psychology rather than idealized rational behaviour, they create solutions more likely to succeed in real contexts. For instance, a pharmacy startup increased medication adherence by 42% by redesigning pill bottles with visual daily trackers and sending personalized SMS reminders using patients’ names – techniques drawn directly from behavioural science research.

Nigerian businesses face unique challenges – unreliable infrastructure, complex regulatory environments, and diverse customer needs across socioeconomic spectrums. These constraints might seem limiting, but they have actually accelerated behavioural innovation. When you can’t solve problems with brute-force technology or unlimited marketing budgets, you’re forced to understand deeper psychological drivers.

The next frontier isn’t just applying these techniques but systematizing them. Forward-thinking Nigerian organizations like the Lagos Business School have begun offering specialized courses in behavioural economics. Government agencies can experiment with behavioural units similar to the UK’s famous “Nudge Unit” to improve public service delivery.

As this field evolves from intuitive practice to deliberate strategy, Nigerian businesses gain a potential advantage that transcends local markets. The behavioural insights developed to navigate Nigeria’s unique commercial landscape represent valuable intellectual property that could be exported globally.

The market woman in Balogun and the fintech developer in Yaba aren’t just running businesses – they are behavioural scientists in disguise, conducting real-world experiments that reveal profound truths about human decision-making. In their success lies evidence that sometimes, understanding psychology creates more value than sophisticated technology. It is not enough to know what customers want but to also understand why they want it in the first place.

Ifedolapo Ojuade is a Commercial Strategy Leader who combines marketing psychology and consumer behaviour patterns with is business management experiences across African markets to help business leaders, professionals and brands to succeed in the African market. You can reach me at [email protected]