With the growth of internet coverage, and smartphone usage, plus the continued reliance on mobile money, one of the things that are changing is how people buy stuff. E-commerce isn’t a big market yet, but more and more people are opting to get things online. In the next few years, the e-commerce industry will be a big sector in Kenya, if the companies involved manage to get it right.
There’s very many e-commerce sites in Kenya. And very many people living in urban areas have either themselves tried buying something online, or know someone who has. A simple search online will show you that so many individuals, and companies are getting into the e-commerce space.
Zuricart.co.ke is one of such ventures. Zuricart offers a wide range of electronics, home, and lifestyle items. Like many e-commerce sites, what stands out at first is their electronic gadgets. Such gadgets are the headliners on many e-commerce sites, because it’s not easy to find local offline stores selling most of these devices.
The convenience of going online, ordering for an item, and waiting to pay once it arrives beats the hassle of having to go around looking for a shop that may luckily stock what you want.
Zuricart allows you to:
- Pay on Delivery
- 24hr delivery across Kenya – in partnership with G4S
- Same day delivery if you live within Nairobi
- Free return of items you may have fault with.
Promises are one thing, keeping them is the issue. Hopefully, they keep these promises, something bigger e-commerce sites haven’t managed to nail.
My main issue with the site currently is that navigating the site is still quite a challenge, and some of the listed items don’t include enough pictures so one isn’t assured that what you’re seeing in the photo is exactly what’s listed. These aren’t minor issues, because every customer needs assurance that whatever they’re getting is the item they are seeing, and is what they want. Hopefully the company addresses this.
Some of the TV deals on the site are quite good. Especially with the TCL smart TVs. If you’re looking to get a new TV, I recommend you start there.
A few years ago, I said brick and mortar stores have the upper-hand in the e-commerce space, if they choose to try. Very few have, and many of those who’ve tried gave up and instead opted to partner with other sites. Zuricart started out as a normal brick and mortar store in 2015. They’re getting into the e-commerce space because, I guess, they understand this space offers more returns by allowing them to reach more people. Hopefully, their venture fairs on well.
The bigger players in the market haven’t had a good run. Jumia since going public has downsized their staff, and is trying out new strategies to make a profit. Masoko on the other hand decided to focus on phones and accessories doing away with third party vendors. The argument that e-commerce is hard in Africa may be true, but that doesn’t necessarily mean hard for everyone. There’s many small sites in Kenya that are thriving – for their capacity.
Check out Zuricart and share your thoughts in the comments section.
