What happened to Jumia? Did they waste a great opportunity?

At one point, I was sure Jumia Kenya would become the next Amazon in the country. But something seems to have gone wrong. I obviously don’t have the numbers to back it up, but they don’t seem to have achieved the success they envisioned. I think they are the first online retailer to have had a real opportunity to convince more Kenyans (and not just nairobians) to shop online. Where did they go wrong? Is it too late for them?

What do you mean what happened? I thought they’re doing ok. Been using them since they opened and I must say I’m very satisfied so far.

That said, I think I know what may probably be holding them back: internet vistas and availability. Until broadband internet is affordable and widely available in Kenya, online based endeavors will always face challenges. Internet costs are currently so expensive and prohibitive that most of us can only ever use it for social media.

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Hapa nita disagree, buying something on jumia utilizes almost the same amount of data as social media maybe even less if you are comparing with instagram. Problem is trust, only people in Nairobi have it good as they pay on delivery after inspecting the cargo. Mtu ako bungoma will find it hard to pay first then wait for the item to be sent

What indicates that they might be flailing? U know something we dont know?

Well, I’m not in Nairobi and I’ve always paid by mobile money prior to delivery. If it has to do with ‘trust’ as you put it, I doubt there’s much that jumia can be blamed for over that. After all, all online transactions are based on trust. Jumia’s is not the unique one in that sense. It’s us who are yet to accept this new way of shopping.

As far as ‘amount of data’ used is concerned, I disagree. Consider a scenario where you are shopping and need to review several products before settling on one and finally making a purchase. Trust me, considering the ‘richness’ of the pages (images and all) that data is not as negligible as you make it sound.

On the other hand, some of us in remote areas with no internet do not see the need to invest in smartphones and computers that we probably will never utilize fully. There’s money - lots of it - to be made outside of the big towns. Lakini these service providers are too shortsighted to ever take note.

I’m no longer using them after being disappointed thrice.

First, the niccurs changed my order and brought me the wrong thing THEN tried to force me to accept the delivery. When I refused and insisted on being given what I ordered, they ignored me for 2 weeks then sent me a survey asking me to indicate my level of customer satisfaction. OBVS, I ticked “dissatisfied” in all fields. THEN THE GOTDANG IDIOTS CALL ME UP TO ASK ME WHY I’M UNHAPPY. :eek:

Second time round, they brought me a defective piece of shite phone then refused to offer any customer care when I called them. I was trying to explain that I understand that I’m supposed to go to a registered dealer or whatevs for warranty issues but in this case, the thing was defective from day one. Jumia shoulda replaced it then resolved the issue of the damaged one with their dealer. If I’d used it for a while, I might have been more inclined to follow up on repairs/warranty for myself, but as it stands, I never made even ONE phone call with it!

Third time, they just flat out kept putting my delivery off. I’d made the mistake of planning an important meeting around that delivery. It was a laptop I was supposed to use in a meeting because mine went and crapped out on me without any warning! So there I was, sitting with my data in an external HDD, an important meeting deadline all up in my azz, and NOTHING to work with. AND THOSE MATHAFAKAZ JUST KEPT GOING LIKE "please wait for our delivery guy, he’ll be along shortly". It took me all of a week to give up and just buy another laptop off the streets!

I was really into them as an online shop but like the saying goes, you make one mistake and it erases a lifetime of good deeds! I’m done with those bitch-azz niccurs!

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Tuseme we are not civilized enough.
I still cant stay at my village for long coz Airtel haifiki na Safcom iko 2G at its best. So practically am out of business.

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I ordered a Casio watch which they had on display, a white watch. Niccur brought me a black one and i told them off. I later got it from SaaZone the exact one i wanted. I placed my order at around 3pm, i received it by 6pm confirmed it and paid on delivery, with 2K discount. Jumia guys need to up their game, kuna wahindi wanakuja kwa ubaya sana.

I think they are doing well. From their drop offs in nairobi, you can tell that they are quite busy

I once made an order of Tecno sijui what! the one they were selling at 4,999/- but the schewpid crew cancelled the order and hiked the cost with 1,000/- thus costing 5,999/-. Then this shcewpid customer care calls me to reorder at the hiked cost.

I gladly told them to f**k off if they can’t reconsider my previous order.

They have a habit of doubling their prices then offering a 25% discount. Net result is that their prices are approx 20% higher than the market.

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Never utilized them, never cared but they are still game.

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It is sad what civilization will reduce humans to.
Maybe these are the people who will surviveor maybe not

are you sure its tht expensive cz u can now get basic internet connection with wifi for 1200 per month, 3mbps by zuku wich i think.is a good deal cz it saves u bundles at home.

Hii WiFi ya 1200/= inapatikana wapi?

One thing that makes me kind of proud is that Kenya is a tough market for foreigners to crack. Do you remember Kalahari? And all those South African stores in the late 90s? But if jumia is going down it maybe because they aren not offering anything significantly better than what you can currently get offline. I needed to buy a monitor a few months ago and the only ones they were offering were either too expensive or too unimpressive. A larger product line, better customer care and open offices outside Nairobi and they may have a chance.

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I sell stuff to Jumia who then sell the stuff to the end user, so far most of my orders have been from guys in the mashinani like kina @Luther12

Hehehe, excellent. I’m told they’ve recently opened an office in Nyeri to handle their increasing client numbers in the region.

zuku home package

I dont understand that guy who say he was frustrated three times or the other one who says he ordered a black Item and received a white item or the one who says that he bought at 4999 and order cancelled and instead the price went upby a K. I have made more than 20 plus orders and none was short of what i expected.in fact sometime i test them to see if they are truly genuine to us. I returned a powerbank which wasnt defective they called me and told me they cant find any problem with the one i had returned but i insisted it was not up to the standards. they brought another one. Kwani mnatumiaga jumia gani??