Jumia forces competition to crash prices!

In the last couple of days there has been in Vanguard, Guardian, Business Day newspapers, price comparison website TopCheck and many others the comparisons of prices amongst retail stores with all pointing to Jumia as the retailer that takes the crown. This was received with a consequent massive buzz on social media by customers with the hashtag #bestpriceonjumia which for that period trended as number 1 on social media. NOW we see competition reactively decreasing prices; all hail Jumia the fairy-tale Robin Hood of retail.

 

According to Jonah Nwokopku, Vanguard Newspapers, “An investigation into some of the prices Jumia offers for some products showed a consistent competitive pricing with even international online retailers like Bestbuy and Amazon. Take for instance the Samsung Galaxy S5, this goes for about N119,000 on Amazon and on Jumia for N95,230”. He also said when talking about the Jumia Fashion category that “More so, in categories like fashion, their prices also beat that of their competition by at least 2 per cent. For instance, a pair of Vanessa’s secret’s shoes which cannot be found anywhere below N9,000 in other online stores is available at N6,495 on Jumia.com.ng”.

Also Daniel Obi, Business Day also corroborated these facts about best prices found on Jumia not compromising on quality, “The low prices also apply not only to electronics but other products. Jumia customers attest to this. Jumia products are cheaper compared to other online stores without compromise to quality”.

When it began, one would think it was another cheesy trend. But after 5 whole days of that relentless #BestPriceOnJumia twitter trend one can’t help but pause and double check. Indeed! Jumia's price hype does measure up to reality. And going by the crazy engagement level of social fans, who aggressively tweeted favourite products they found at better prices on Jumia, it is obvious this was more than one of those calculated social campaigns, but a testament to Jumia's commitment to actually offering highly competitive pricing.

When it comes to the reasons how Jumia is able to offer best prices, these publications name different reasons. One very interesting fact is that online retailers have lower fixed costs so they can offer cheaper products to its customers. Also Jumia has been able to forge lasting and favorable partnerships with the biggest brands who are able to offer Jumia their products at reduced tariffs and sometimes even exclusively. These brands are happy and always willing to work with Jumia due to a proven track record of service delivery, customer satisfaction and guaranteed volume of sales. This leaves no doubt that the Jumia team has the best negotiators within the industry.

In an exciting twist, there was a sudden drop in prices from other competing retail stores and it brings the question, is it really so easy to drop prices over-night just to compete? Did these retailers make money off the back of customers? Maybe these prices are a long-term strategy or only a quick fix reaction to Jumia’s consistent best offerings? Either way we know one thing for sure Jumia is the ‘Robin Hood’ for Nigerian customers.

Feels like exciting times for shoppers; has justice been served? Time will tell!