Jiji.ng Product Search Scraper: Extract Nigeria's Leading Marketplace Data

Excerpt: Efficiently scrape product listings from Jiji.ng, Nigeria's largest online classifieds marketplace. Extract comprehensive data including vehicles, electronics, real estate, and job postings with prices, seller information, and product specifications. Perfect for market research, price monitoring, and competitive intelligence across Nigerian e-commerce.

Understanding Jiji.ng and Its Market Significance

Jiji.ng dominates Nigeria's online classifieds market, connecting millions of buyers and sellers across categories from automobiles to real estate, electronics to fashion. As West Africa's most visited classifieds platform, Jiji provides unique insights into Nigerian consumer behavior, pricing dynamics, and product availability that generic international platforms cannot match.

The platform's localization captures Nigeria-specific market data: Naira pricing, regional availability across Lagos, Abuja, and other states, popular vehicle models, property types, and emerging product categories. For businesses entering Nigerian markets, researchers analyzing consumer trends, or entrepreneurs identifying opportunities, Jiji's data reveals the pulse of Africa's largest economy.

Manual data collection across multiple searches, categories, and regions would require countless hours navigating pages and copying information. The Jiji.ng Product Search Scraper automates this process, transforming search results into structured datasets ready for analysis, price monitoring, or market intelligence.

What This Scraper Extracts and Target Users

The Jiji.ng Product Search Scraper processes search result pages—the listings displayed after applying filters for categories, price ranges, locations, or product attributes. It captures multiple listings per page, enabling efficient bulk data collection across various searches.

Key extracted data includes:

Product identification (ID, GUID, title, slug), pricing information (price object, price title), location data (region, region ID, parent region), product specifications (attributes, category details), seller information (user ID, contact visibility), listing metadata (status, boost/top indicators, view counts), visual assets (images, image counts), and engagement metrics (tops count, admin info).

Primary users:

Market researchers analyze pricing trends, product availability, and regional demand patterns across Nigerian markets. E-commerce businesses monitor competitor pricing, identify popular products, and benchmark their offerings. Import/export companies track vehicle prices, electronics markets, and identify profitable product categories. Real estate investors monitor property listings, price movements, and regional development. Data analysts build price indices, consumer preference models, and market forecasts for Nigerian economy.

Input Configuration: Targeting Search Results

The scraper processes Jiji.ng search result URLs—pages showing filtered product listings, not individual product detail pages.

Example Configuration:

{
  "proxy": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  },
  "max_items_per_url": 20,
  "ignore_url_failures": true,
  "urls": [
    "https://jiji.ng/cars?query=suv&filter_attr_1_make=Toyota&price_min=16000000&price_max=25000000"
  ]
}

Example Screenshot:

Parameter Details:

proxy: Set to false by default. Enable Apify proxy with "useApifyProxy": true if experiencing access issues or needing residential IPs for reliability.

max_items_per_url: Controls listings extracted per page (default: 20). Jiji displays 20-40 items per page. Increase to 50-100 for comprehensive page capture.

ignore_url_failures: When true, scraper continues despite individual URL failures—essential when processing multiple search URLs where some may be invalid or empty.

urls array: Contains Jiji search result URLs. Build URLs by searching Jiji.ng manually, applying desired filters (category, price range, location, attributes), then copying the resulting URL.

URL Structure Example: https://jiji.ng/cars?query=suv&filter_attr_1_make=Toyota&price_min=16000000&price_max=25000000

This URL searches for Toyota SUVs priced between ₦16M-₦25M. Filter parameters vary by category—cars have make/model filters, electronics have brand/condition, real estate has property types and bedroom counts.

Pro Tip: Test URLs in browser before scraping to verify they return expected results. For large datasets spanning multiple pages, include pagination: &page=1, &page=2, etc.

Complete Output Structure: Field Definitions and Applications

Admin Info: Administrative metadata about listing management. Purpose: Platform moderation tracking, listing quality signals.

As Top: Boolean indicating if listing appears in top/featured section. Purpose: Identifying premium placements, analyzing featured listing patterns.

Attrs: Array of product attributes specific to category (e.g., for cars: make, model, year, mileage, transmission). Purpose: Product specifications for filtering, comparison analysis, building detailed product databases.

Badge Info: Special badges or certifications on listing (verified seller, inspected item). Purpose: Trust signals, quality filtering, seller reputation analysis.

Can View Contacts: Boolean indicating if contact information is visible. Purpose: Engagement level indicator, seller accessibility analysis.

Category ID / Category Name / Category Slug: Product category identifiers and names. Purpose: Dataset segmentation, category-level analysis, building category taxonomies.

Count Images / Images Count: Number of product images. Purpose: Listing quality metric—more images often correlate with serious sellers and better engagement.

Details: Additional product information or description text. Purpose: Feature extraction, keyword analysis, natural language processing for trend identification.

Event Params: Tracking parameters for analytics. Purpose: Understanding platform's internal tracking, behavioral data if available.

FB View Content Data: Facebook pixel data for retargeting. Purpose: Cross-platform advertising analysis, understanding seller marketing strategies.

GUID: Globally unique identifier for the listing. Purpose: Primary key for databases, ensuring no duplicate entries when merging datasets.

ID: Jiji's internal listing identifier. Purpose: Linking to detailed pages, tracking specific listings over time.

Image Obj / Images: Product image URLs and metadata. Purpose: Visual assets for displaying listings, image analysis for product condition assessment, building image datasets.

Is Boost / Is Top: Flags indicating paid promotion levels. Purpose: Identifying premium listings, analyzing correlation between promotion and sales velocity.

Is CV / Is Job: Flags for CV/resume or job postings. Purpose: Filtering employment-related listings when focusing on product categories.

Is Inspected: Indicates if item underwent platform inspection (common for vehicles). Purpose: Quality indicator, pricing premium analysis for inspected items.

Is Owner: Boolean showing if poster is actual owner vs. dealer/agent. Purpose: Differentiating private sales from commercial sellers, pricing strategy analysis.

Labels: Tags or labels applied to listing (e.g., "urgent sale," "negotiable"). Purpose: Urgency indicators, negotiation flexibility signals.

Message URL: Direct messaging link to seller. Purpose: Contact facilitation, building communication datasets.

Paid Info: Details about paid promotional features purchased. Purpose: Understanding seller investment in visibility, premium listing analysis.

Price Obj / Price Title: Structured price data (amount, currency) and display text. Purpose: Core data for price analysis, historical tracking, competitive benchmarking. Price in Naira (₦).

Region / Region ID / Region Item Text / Region Name / Region Parent Name / Region Slug: Comprehensive location data from city to state level. Purpose: Geographic analysis, regional price variations, identifying high-demand areas.

Short Description: Brief product summary. Purpose: Quick overview for listings, keyword extraction without processing full details.

Slug: URL-friendly product identifier. Purpose: Constructing direct product URLs, alternative identifier.

Status: Listing status (active, sold, expired). Purpose: Filtering available items, calculating sell-through rates, market velocity analysis.

Title: Product listing title. Purpose: Primary search/filter field, product categorization, trend identification.

Title Labels: Additional tags in title area. Purpose: Promotional markers, special features highlighting.

Tops Count: Number of times listing was "topped" (promoted to top of category). Purpose: Popularity metric, seller engagement indicator.

URL: Direct link to full listing page. Purpose: Reference linking, accessing complete product details, verification.

User ID: Seller's unique identifier. Purpose: Tracking individual sellers, analyzing seller behavior, identifying power sellers or dealers.

Sample Output:

[
  {
  "admin_info": {},
  "as_top": false,
  "attrs": [
    {
      "name": "Condition",
      "value": "Foreign Used",
      "unit": null
    },
    {
      "name": "Transmission",
      "value": "Automatic",
      "unit": null
    }
  ],
  "badge_info": {},
  "can_view_contacts": true,
  "category_id": 29,
  "category_name": "Cars",
  "category_slug": "cars",
  "count_images": 18,
  "details": "Distress Sale !!Extremely clean TOks 2015 Toyota Highlander XLE Edition, BT, RevCam,Keyless Entry,...",
  "event_params": {
    "cpc_campaign_id": 450826,
    "cpc_group_id": 148952,
    "position_type": "cpc",
    "listing_options": [
      "filters",
      "search"
    ],
    "sig_data": "q8SFky4l-NE=.gadjcGNfYmlky0BLAAAAAAAA"
  },
  "fb_view_content_data": {
    "content_name": "Toyota Highlander XLE 4dr SUV (3.5L 6cyl 6A) 2015 Gray",
    "content_category": "Cars",
    "content_ids": [
      "38r1EcxYv4JhPY1GrWasHsAI"
    ],
    "content_type": "product",
    "value": "0.18",
    "currency": "USD"
  },
  "guid": "38r1EcxYv4JhPY1GrWasHsAI",
  "id": 50543662,
  "image_obj": {
    "url": "https://pictures-nigeria.jijistatic.net/186278202_MzAwLTQwMC0yZjdlOWI0YWQ4.webp",
    "center": [
      51,
      52
    ]
  },
  "images": [
    {
      "url": "https://pictures-nigeria.jijistatic.net/186278202_MzAwLTQwMC0yZjdlOWI0YWQ4.webp",
      "center": [
        51,
        52
      ],
      "size": [
        300,
        400
      ]
    }
  ],
  "images_count": 18,
  "is_boost": "vip",
  "is_cv": false,
  "is_inspected": false,
  "is_job": false,
  "is_owner": false,
  "is_top": false,
  "labels": [
    {
      "type": "id_verify",
      "value": "Verified ID"
    }
  ],
  "message_url": "/?auth=Login&type=reply-form&url=%2Famuwo-odofin%2Fcars%2Ftoyota-highlander-xle-4dr-suv-3-5l-6cyl-6a-2015-gray-38r1EcxYv4JhPY1GrWasHsAI.html%3Fpage%3D2%26pos%3D1%26cur_pos%3D1%26ads_per_page%3D24%26ads_count%3D2208%26lid%3DDp8N3cysbzca5axz",
  "paid_info": {
    "text": "Promoted",
    "package_type": "vip",
    "border": "",
    "icon": true,
    "more_photos": false
  },
  "price_obj": {
    "value": 24900000,
    "view": "₦ 24,900,000",
    "period": null,
    "bulk": null,
    "type": null
  },
  "price_title": "₦ 24,900,000",
  "region": "Lagos State, Amuwo-Odofin",
  "region_id": 125,
  "region_item_text": "Lagos, Amuwo-Odofin",
  "region_name": "Amuwo-Odofin",
  "region_parent_name": "Lagos State",
  "region_slug": "amuwo-odofin",
  "short_description": "Distress Sale !!Extremely clean TOks 2015 Toyota Highlander XLE Edition, BT, RevCam,Keyless Entry,...",
  "slug": "toyota-highlander-xle-4dr-suv-3-5l-6cyl-6a-2015-gray",
  "status": "active",
  "title": "Toyota Highlander XLE 4dr SUV (3.5L 6cyl 6A) 2015 Gray",
  "title_labels": [],
  "tops_count": 0,
  "url": "/amuwo-odofin/cars/toyota-highlander-xle-4dr-suv-3-5l-6cyl-6a-2015-gray-38r1EcxYv4JhPY1GrWasHsAI.html?page=2&pos=1&cur_pos=1&ads_per_page=24&ads_count=2208&lid=Dp8N3cysbzca5axz",
  "user_id": 15814991,
  "from_url": "https://jiji.ng/api_web/v1/listing?query=suv&filter_attr_1_make=Toyota&price_min=16000000&price_max=25000000&init_page=true&page=2&webp=true&slug=cars"
}
]

Step-by-Step Implementation Guide

1. Define Search Criteria: Determine target categories (vehicles, electronics, real estate), price ranges, locations, and specific attributes. Test searches on Jiji.ng to refine filters.

2. Build URL List: Copy URLs from manual searches. For comprehensive data, create multiple URLs covering different: categories (cars, phones, property), price segments (budget, mid-range, premium), regions (Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt), and pagination (page=1, page=2, etc.).

3. Configure Input: Set max_items_per_url based on needs—20 for standard pages, 50+ for thorough extraction. Enable ignore_url_failures for multi-URL runs.

4. Execute Scraping: Launch via Apify console. Monitor progress. Processing 10 search pages typically completes in 2-4 minutes depending on page complexity.

5. Review Data Quality: Check dataset preview. Verify prices are in expected range, regions are correct, and critical fields (title, price, category) are populated.

6. Export Data: Choose format—JSON for databases, CSV for Excel analysis. Clean data by filtering status="active" for current listings only.

7. Handle Pagination: For large datasets, systematically increment page parameter in URLs or increase max_items_per_url to let scraper handle pagination automatically.

Error Handling: If URLs fail, verify they're search pages (not product detail pages). Check filters are valid—Jiji may modify parameter names. Activity log provides detailed error diagnostics.

Strategic Applications for Nigerian Market Intelligence

Vehicle Market Analysis: Track automobile pricing across makes, models, and years. Identify depreciation rates, popular imports, and regional price variations. Monitor supply of specific vehicles to time purchases or sales.

Electronics Price Monitoring: Track phone, laptop, and appliance prices. Identify genuine vs. refurbished pricing, seasonal trends, and optimal buying periods. Detect counterfeit product patterns through abnormal pricing.

Real Estate Investment Research: Analyze property prices by location, type, and features. Track rental yields, identify emerging neighborhoods, and monitor development patterns across Nigerian cities.

Competitive Intelligence: Monitor competitor pricing strategies, product assortment, and promotional patterns. Analyze which sellers use premium features and correlate with listing success.

Consumer Demand Analysis: View counts, tops counts, and listing duration reveal product popularity. Identify trending products, seasonal demand shifts, and emerging categories before they saturate.

Seller Behavior Profiling: Track user IDs to identify power sellers, dealers vs. private sellers, and successful selling strategies (pricing, images, descriptions).

Regional Market Mapping: Compare product availability and pricing across Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and other regions. Identify underserved markets and arbitrage opportunities.

Maximizing Data Value: Advanced Techniques

Historical Price Tracking: Scrape same searches weekly/monthly. Build time-series data showing price evolution, seasonal patterns, and economic indicator correlation (Naira exchange rate impact on import prices).

Quality Scoring: Create algorithms weighing image count, description length, is_inspected flag, and badge_info to score listing quality. High-quality listings typically sell faster and at better prices.

Seller Reputation Systems: Aggregate data by user_id. Track sellers' average prices, listing volumes, use of premium features, and response patterns to identify reliable sellers.

Category Cross-Analysis: Compare attributes across categories—if "is_owner" vehicles price lower than dealer vehicles, quantify the difference. Build category-specific pricing models.

Geographic Price Arbitrage: Identify products cheaper in one region than another after accounting for transportation. Reveals profitable buying and reselling opportunities.

Promotion ROI Analysis: Compare boosted vs. non-boosted listings for time-to-sale, final prices, and view counts. Determine if paid promotions justify costs.

Image Analysis: Use computer vision on image URLs to assess product condition, detect duplicated listings (same item reposted), or identify visual patterns in successful listings.

Natural Language Processing: Analyze titles and descriptions to extract features, identify persuasive language patterns, and detect emerging product terminology or local slang.

Data Governance and Best Practices

Refresh Frequency: Nigerian market moves rapidly, especially for vehicles and electronics. Weekly scraping captures meaningful changes. Daily scraping for fast-moving categories or during economic volatility.

Status Filtering: Always check status field. Filter for "active" listings only when seeking current market conditions. Retain "sold" listings for historical velocity analysis.

Currency Considerations: All prices in Naira (₦). Track exchange rates separately if analyzing import categories (vehicles, electronics) as dollar-naira fluctuations directly impact pricing.

Regional Validation: Verify region fields are consistent. Some sellers list in wrong regions to gain visibility. Cross-reference region_parent_name and region_name for accuracy.

Duplicate Detection: Use GUID and ID fields to identify duplicates when merging multiple scrapes. Sellers sometimes create duplicate listings across categories.

Data Enrichment: Combine Jiji data with CBN exchange rates, customs duty rates, or international retail prices for imported goods. Build comprehensive market intelligence databases.

Ethical Scraping: Respect rate limits. Space large scraping runs over hours. Jiji serves Nigerian entrepreneurs—sustainable practices ensure continued data access.

Privacy Compliance: User IDs and contact information may be personal data. Handle responsibly, use only for stated business purposes, implement appropriate security measures.

Conclusion

The Jiji.ng Product Search Scraper unlocks Nigeria's largest classifieds marketplace for systematic analysis. From vehicle pricing intelligence to real estate investment research, electronics market monitoring to consumer trend identification, this tool transforms fragmented listings into actionable insights. Whether you're entering Nigerian markets, conducting academic research, or building data-driven businesses, comprehensive Jiji data provides the foundation for informed decisions in Africa's largest economy. Start extracting Nigerian marketplace intelligence today.