E-Commerce in Kenya is still in the infancy stage. Even though key players such as OLX, Jumia, Kilimall, Kaymu among others have been around for a while, Kenyans are yet to embrace e-commerce fully. This presents a huge opportunity for companies that want to come into this market.
According to Techweez, One of Kenya’s biggest supermarket, Tuskys, has expressed plans to explores Kenya’s e-commerce market as from Q2 of this year. Most supermarkets in Kenya have an online presence but they are dwarfed by the like of Jumia and Kilimall who offer a full e-commerce experience allowing consumer to buy a wide range of products from the comfort of their homes/offices.
According to Tuskys, the retail landscape in Kenya is changing and this is the main reason the supermarket is making this move. The supermarket may be positioning itself on the right path as more and more consumers go online with the changing shopping g behaviors.
Partnering with Giants
Tuskys will be partnering with some big companies to make its e-commerce entry a success. The company will enlist the services of Safaricom to handle the payment aspect while Wells Fargo will handle the delivery of goods. This is a very positive gesture for Tuskys as it shows how confident the company is taking e-commerce. It is still not clear the exact capacity Safaricom will play but we will know more as time goes by.
If you have used any of the other e-commerce out there, then you will agree with me that delivery is a big issue and for Tuskys to engage Wells Fargo may separate its service from the existing market players.
I will be watching what Tuskys does on the e-commerce market and see if it poses any serious threat to some of the existing platforms. It is always good to see more players come into the market as this means that the consumers will get better services.
Read More: 5 Trends That Shaped Kenya’s E-Commerce Market in 2015
