E-commerce poised to grow on more incentives, latest Jumia survey shows

Online sales make up only two per cent of total retail sales in Kenya. [iStockphoto]

The majority of Kenyans are still dependent on incentives to make online purchases, hindering e-commerce from coming of age in the country, new shopping research shows.

According to the current Jumia online shopping data, online purchase still makes up only two per cent of total retail sales in Kenya, underscoring the place of incentives in revolutionising the trends.

This has pushed leading e-commerce platforms such as Jumia to come up with annual sales events including the now-popular "Black Fridays" in a bid to shore up revenues while fueling the growth of e-commerce in the country.

Jumia Kenya Chief Executive Juan Seco, while unveiling the company's seventh Black Friday this week, said online commerce sites have a big role to play in shaking up the current trend to catch up with more mature markets like the UK, where residents make over 50 per cent of their purchases online.

"Online sales make up only two per cent of total retail sales in Kenya. These kinds of deals catalyse online shoppers to make purchases and to make the expected transition to online shopping easier," said Seco.

Set to go live on November 4th, Jumia's 26-day promotion is designed to offer the platform visitors up to three flash sales every Friday with an 11 per cent discount at checkout on all products on November 11th, free pick up countrywide on 18th and clearance sale on the last Friday.

Jumia has also onboarded some banks to offer incentives through card payments even as consumers enjoy a 20 per cent discount for Mastercard payments.