Jumia has reported that it has 4.8 million active customers on its platform across the continent, with eyes of increasing them to reduce overall losses totaling $1 billion since its inception in 2012.
In its second quarter results ending June 2019, the company acknowledged that it is well placed to turn its fortunes by 2022.
The report noted that men’s fashion, home appliances, phones and services all account for 14 per cent each of demand, the highest they record. Beauty and perfumes follows with 13 per cent, women’s fashion at 11 per cent, electronics at 10 per cent while FMCG is last at 8 per cent.
The data gives both the indicative demand for products and services across the continent that potential sellers could consider investing.
In terms of services offered, which some may not be in all markets, they include airtime recharge, utilities bill payment, classified, travels, food and instant deliveries.
The company competes favorably with other global brands in other markets like Alibaba, Amazon and Mercado Libre. It has logistics’ arm, e-commerce and payment options like Jumia Pay comparable to all of them.
It however has a lower penetration than the rest. Its penetration is 0.6 per cent, while Alibaba has the highest at 24 per cent.
Its gross merchandise volume (GMV) is also up by 69 percent year-on-year. GMV is a metric used by e-commerce companies to highlight the total value of merchandise sold through the site. It gives hope that it could turn its fortunes in the coming years.
In addition, the company also reported year-on-year increases in marketplace revenue at 90 per cent and gross profit of 94 per cent.
In Kenya, Jumia has launched a campaign dubbed, Jumia Global Fest in which it offers global products at local prices. Some of the categories of products available include women’s jewelry, sports and fitness tools, kids fashion, smart watches, mobile accessories and health and beauty tools.
The festival runs from August 26th to September 1st.
