Investigation of the Effect of Product Innovation on Market Share of Unilever Nigeria in Lagos State

Product innovation is a critical strategy for maintaining and expanding market share in competitive consumer goods markets, and examining its effect for Unilever Nigeria in Lagos State, South West Nigeria, provides practical marketing strategy insights. This study investigated the effect of product innovation activities on the market share of Unilever Nigeria in the Lagos State consumer goods market. Data were collected from 200 retail consumers and 40 retail outlet managers across Surulere, Ikeja, and Lekki in Lagos. Product innovation was assessed through consumer perception of new product launches, product improvement activities, and packaging innovations by Unilever between 2020 and 2023. Market share was assessed through consumer brand preference surveys and retail sales data contributed by outlet managers. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were employed. Results showed that product improvement (rather than entirely new product launches) had the greatest impact on market share retention (beta = 0.52, p < 0.001). Consumers rated Unilever's packaging innovation positively, contributing to perceived brand premiumisation. New product launch awareness was moderate (58%), but purchase conversion rate was only 34%, indicating trial adoption barriers. Younger consumers (18 to 30 years) were more responsive to packaging innovations, while consumers above 40 prioritised product quality improvements. The study concludes that incremental product improvement is Unilever Nigeria's most effective market share strategy in Lagos, and recommends increased consumer co-creation in product development to improve new product adoption rates. Keywords: product innovation, market share, Unilever Nigeria, Lagos State, consumer goods