My last article tilted – “Jumia and Konga are selling mainly graphics”, got mixed reactions from the audience. Majority of the audience shared in the sentiment while some opposed. Some unsatisfied customers even cited scenarios where they had fallen victims to the graphics displayed on their website.
According to a customer, R. Oketade, “I am a living witness. I used to believe that any product /gadget you purchase through this platform is nothing but original. Alas! It wasn’t. Your Quality Control needs to buckle up. Though, their return policy is great.”
Business only thrives when customers trust is earned. But it wasn’t so for John Paul, who seemed to have been burned by the love of graphics on Jumia.
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John Paul shared his own side of the story, “Unfortunately, this is the main reason e-commerce has struggled to pick up in Nigeria beside logistics. Trust issues! When you display a diamond and delivers a steel to the customer, you have lost that customer for life.”
To be responsible, you must be accountable. Nkem accused them of being nonchalant towards the satisfaction of their customers because they are not held accountable.
“Their Quality control/assurance is zero. That’s why they sell fake products on their sites. There are no standards, which they are supposed to have for each product sold by these companies, but it seems one is holding them accountable not the people, not the government departments.” – Nkem
As they say complaints don’t solve anything in life but to add more salt to injury. The best is to find the cause of the problem instead of whining about it.
Something JohnPaul did while pouring out his anger.
“They really need to do more in terms of quantity checks for their vendors and start delisting vendors who don’t meet up with their quality standards. ” – John Paul.
This problem is not only limited to e-commerce, it is also a big problem with Franchise in the hospitality business. Some of the hotel franchise in Nigeria don’t even meet up with the standards of the brands. When I stay in some of those properties abroad compared to what I see here back home is nothing to write home about.
Jumia and Konga need to step up their games. Jumia especially needs to wake up to the call. It’s no longer a small business as it used to be. It is now a public company that has been listed in the international stock market. The stakes are high.
Adimuchinobi said, ”While the issue with Jumia is that both the sellers and the customers are losing money. Last month, we incurred a huge loss due to reverse e-commerce. To me, Jumia positioned their brand in a tight corner which is the genesis of this ugly incident.”
The brand is positioned as a place to buy goods at low prices, very cheap, thus forcing or coercing the sellers to sell at a very low price with a very low-profit margin.
Now, here is the thing the cost of processing an order is very high. The cost includes: Packaging cost, logistics, connectivity, Jumia commission, seller shipping contribution and printing.
So for a seller to make a profit, he or she has two options – sell inferior goods or think out of the box. In most cases, the easiest option is to sell inferior goods.
But, the best option, in this case, is to use group buying. I actually discovered that one can source quality products from China at an amazing price through group buying. Using this method helps to increase the chances of making a profit because of the huge discount buyers would benefit from China manufacturers or suppliers.
Jumia and Konga are doing great but they can do better.
Note: This article has not been written to downgrade Jumia and Konga. It is neither politically inclined. This article represents the voice of the people who want to see a change in the e-commerce sector.