E-Commerce platform Jumia has scrapped the international shipping fees for customers who shop for Jumia Global items, a move meant to solidify its appeal among shoppers.
Announcing the move, the online retailer said that customers will enjoy free international delivery, which means that the customer pays the local delivery fee, but the international admin fee is waived.
The moves comes days after Jumia was listed in the New York Stock Exchange. The company raised $196 million (sh19.8 billion) with the sale of 13.5 million American depositary receipts at $14.50 each.
Founded by 38-year-old French entrepreneurs Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara in 2012, it now commands the African continent with more than 4 million customers in 14 African countries.
Commenting on the international shipping, Jumia MD, Sam Chapatte said they will continue to invest in consumer experience as we thrive to grow the E commerce industry.
“The service offers customers the ability to buy hassle free, and with free international delivery”, he noted.
The deal which is an incentive to online shoppers has no minimum order amounts and customers can shop for products across all categories on both the Jumia website and Jumia app.
The incentive is a slight departure from its earlier approach of focusing more on the application than the website.
E-commerce platform often charge a fee depending with the weight and size of the package and mode of transport. Air is more expensive than sea but also takes shorter time.
On Friday Jumia Technologies AG shares soared by 75 percent on their first day of trading in New York. It showed an investor rush to buy into the company’s stocks, trading at $25.46 as of 4:34 p.m. local time on Friday, according to Bloomberg. This translated in the valuation of the company at more than $1.9 billion.
The move could further soar the shares as it appeals to more investors as well as offer competitive options for online shoppers looking to buy goods from different parts of the world.
