Leading e-commerce platform in Nigeria, Jumia, has said it expects to attract a surge of new shoppers during the 2019 Black Friday campaign scheduled for November 8 through 29.
The company’s Head of Growth, Mr Ayobami Martins, who stated this in a press statement to newsmen in Lagos, said over 12,000 SMEs in the country will list over 10 million products on the platform during the campaign.
“There are several facets to our Black Friday campaigns. Firstly, it’s a sales event where consumers take advantage of the biggest cost-saving offers through our various deals, huge discounts and flash sales.
“Secondly, it’s an opportunity to expand the revenue of our sellers, the entrepreneurs selling on our marketplace. Third, it’s an avenue for the conversion of bricks & mortar shoppers to online shoppers, for them to experience the ease and time-saving benefits that come with e-commerce.
“Predominantly for us, it’s about increasing the e-commerce access for those who are yet to shop online, or those who shop infrequently,” Mr Martins said.
“Sales campaign like Black Friday provides us with a unique opportunity to increase our product assortment by increasing the number of sellers and products on the platform. Last year, over 10,000 sellers participated in the campaign.
“This year, we have over 12,000 sellers who will list over 10 million products. It’s majorly an avenue for our sellers to grow, increase their revenue and finish the year with a big bang,” he added.
While logistics remains the biggest challenge facing most eCommerce companies in the world and in Nigeria especially during special sales campaign such as Black Friday, the country manager for Jumia Services (Jumia’s logistics arm), Tolulope George-Yanwah, has assured consumers to expect excellent delivery services during and after the campaign. According to her, Jumia has identified some logistics challenges during Black Friday, and these have been fixed ahead of November 8, 2019.
“We have a projection to process 70 percent more orders than last year’s Black Friday, and we have ensured to put in place an increased workforce, split across the major cities in the country.
“Our delivery associates have been trained on the best technologies that will aid the discharge of their duties. We have also provided a real-time technology that allows our customers to trace the fulfilment process of their orders from when they are shipped from the warehouse until they are delivered.
“This is a necessary partnership that we have entered with other delivery companies to support our efforts towards ensuring orders are delivered on time,” George-Yanwah added.
Top leading global brands partnering with Jumia for the campaign include: Nexus, UKA, HP, Microsoft, Samsung, and Binatone.
Business Post Contributor 
Dipo Olowookere