When it comes to e-commerce in Nigeria, Jumia is blazing the trail. Those folk from Rocket Internet have unleashed the rocket fuel for the brains of their Nigerian operation.
I haven’t bought anything from Jumia store, but maybe once in the past 18 months but I have used Jumia’s travel and food app at least 4 times in the past 3 months. It is difficult to tell if Jumia is making a profit from its businesses but it is providing a good service.
Jumia is on the cusp of greatness as regards food and travel service business in Nigeria.
The other weekend I booked a N70,000 room at California Clear Essence Spa at 13 Alexander and I got 30% off and stayed in a suite with my wife and our adorable two year old. Heck, even grandma opted in for a cottage and got it for real cheap. I mean 30% off is a huge incentive in thrill/deal seekers. The balling on a budget peeps in all of us will seek to emerge for 30% off.
Then as soon as I settled into the Hollywood suite, I whipped out my mobile and ordered dinner comprising of many things including cornbread from Jumia Food.
So it was a Friday and there I was my feet up in the suite, and cornbread all courtesy of Jumia. It all seemed so perfect but there are usually always flaws.
The most annoying part of our stay was the inability to book a massage. Apparently the spa is always heavily booked for weekends and they only had 1 slot. We passed this on to grandma on account of security. However this is where Jumia Travel dropped the ball, grandma had told us to call in advance the wellness resort and schedule a massage but the hotels’ lines did not go through and even when ringing went unanswered. Jumia Travel should bypass the inefficiencies of their partner brands using the technology at its disposal.
By adopting a star rating system like Uber, Jumia Travel can assess partners through its user base. Users can give feedback, thus no need for long articles like this.
Jumia can even forestall incidents like this by updating its technology for merchants and users on its platform. If the merchants have spa or other services at their real estate, allow the consumer to also purposefully book those optional services at the point of booking.
The failings of Jumia Food comes from its inability or refusal to screen its merchants. The providers on the Island are quite okay but the mainland has some sketchy areas with sketchy providers. Jumia Food needs to deliberately let consumers leave feedback because of these sub par service providers that can easily tarnish its Food brand.
Also Jumia should turn the service delivery up a notch by ensuring the customer is satisified after he or she has eaten. Reviews, photos and testimonials via the app about the merchants should be immediately integrated. Like how it is on Amazon.com.
Jumia Nigeria must bring the cutting edge to Nigerians, and their efforts thus far have been good and can be even greater.
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