Online stores lay out strategies targeting Christmas shoppers

Online shopping

Competition for a share of online shoppers is on as consumers enter the December holiday season. On the list of big hitters are local players Jumia, global online payment platform PayPal, credit card companies, commercial banks and supermarkets, all keen to get a share of the wallet.

On a global scale, PayPal continues to be at the forefront of the digital payments revolution, processing almost 10 million payments for customers per day. “With our 157 million active digital wallets, we have created an open and secure payments ecosystem that people and businesses use to transact with each other online and on mobile devices,” said Efi Dahan, PayPal Regional Director Africa and Israel.

The payments platform is available in 203 markets with services that allow customers to get paid in more than 100 currencies, withdraw funds to their bank accounts in 57 currencies and hold balances in their PayPal accounts in 26 currencies.

In Kenya, PayPal helps consumers purchase online, whether from local websites or international ones. “We have partnered with Equity Bank to allow withdrawals from the PayPal account to a local Kenyan Equity bank account. PayPal is also accepted as a payment method by big local brands like Kenya Airways, Jumia and the Standard group,” said Dahan.

Black Friday

With PayPal, one does not share their financial details with the seller. This gives the consumer more control and guarantees security.

“On top of that we also protect the consumer’s eligible purchases with PayPal Buyer Protection. That means that if an item doesn’t show up, or turns out to be different from what was described, PayPal will help sort things out with the seller,” said Dahan.

Consumers checking out with PayPal do not need to type in all their credit card details and shipping information for each transaction- everything is already stored in their PayPal account. All the consumer needs is an email address and password to get through the checkout. Kenyan shoppers have been increasingly enjoying the convenience of shopping online and getting their goods delivered to their doorstep.

One of the biggest sales globally started on Friday November 28 (Black Friday) – and has been a US tradition where major stores give massive discounts to shoppers on the Friday after thanksgiving  - to Cyber Monday (Mon December 1) and the rest of the holiday.

This gives way to a full month of promotions and discounts right until Christmas period. The tradition has spread out  globally to include other countries and renowned brands. In the UK, experts say Black Friday is the busiest online shopping day of the year, with an estimated million pounds spent on credit cards every three minutes.

 

Competition for a share of online shoppers is on as consumers enter the December holiday season. On the list of big hitters are local players Jumia, global online payment platform PayPal, credit card companies, commercial banks and supermarkets, all keen to get a share of the wallet.

On a global scale, PayPal continues to be at the forefront of the digital payments revolution, processing almost 10 million payments for customers per day. “With our 157 million active digital wallets, we have created an open and secure payments ecosystem that people and businesses use to transact with each other online and on mobile devices,” said Efi Dahan, PayPal Regional Director Africa and Israel.

The payments platform is available in 203 markets with services that allow customers to get paid in more than 100 currencies, withdraw funds to their bank accounts in 57 currencies and hold balances in their PayPal accounts in 26 currencies.

In Kenya, PayPal helps consumers purchase online, whether from local websites or international ones. “We have partnered with Equity Bank to allow withdrawals from the PayPal account to a local Kenyan Equity bank account. PayPal is also accepted as a payment method by big local brands like Kenya Airways, Jumia and the Standard group,” said Dahan.

Black Friday

With PayPal, one does not share their financial details with the seller. This gives the consumer more control and guarantees security.

“On top of that we also protect the consumer’s eligible purchases with PayPal Buyer Protection. That means that if an item doesn’t show up, or turns out to be different from what was described, PayPal will help sort things out with the seller,” said Dahan.

Consumers checking out with PayPal do not need to type in all their credit card details and shipping information for each transaction- everything is already stored in their PayPal account. All the consumer needs is an email address and password to get through the checkout. Kenyan shoppers have been increasingly enjoying the convenience of shopping online and getting their goods delivered to their doorstep.

One of the biggest sales globally started on Friday November 28 (Black Friday) – and has been a US tradition where major stores give massive discounts to shoppers on the Friday after thanksgiving  - to Cyber Monday (Mon December 1) and the rest of the holiday.

This gives way to a full month of promotions and discounts right until Christmas period. The tradition has spread out  globally to include other countries and renowned brands. In the UK, experts say Black Friday is the busiest online shopping day of the year, with an estimated million pounds spent on credit cards every three minutes.