Overview of Jumia’s cross-border e-commerce platform and the “Black Friday” sales rules
Jumia Platform Overview
As a giant cross-border e-commerce platform in Africa, Jumia is known as the “African Amazon” and its strength is eye-catching. Jumia was officially established in 2012 as a project of the German startup Rocket Internet and is headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Jumia is a pure third-party e-commerce platform that focuses on providing markets and sales channels and does not sell self-operated products.
Jumia’s largest market is Nigeria, accounting for 31% of its monthly traffic. In addition, Jumia’s website has been localized in 11 African countries, 6 of which have more than 1 million monthly visits, namely Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, Tunisia, Ghana and Algeria. Although its expansion in Africa has not always been smooth sailing, Jumia has closed operations in Cameroon and Tanzania due to the instability of political and economic development in African countries.
The Jumia platform also introduces e-commerce features that are popular in other parts of the world, including “Black Friday” promotions, a free shipping program called “Jumia Prime”, corporate membership purchase qualifications, and overseas purchases. In addition, Jumia has launched multiple Internet projects in Africa, including travel, food delivery and payment services. It also provides logistics services similar to Amazon FBA to sellers on the platform, so it is known as the “Amazon of Africa”.
Advantages of Jumia Platform
Jumia has a considerable number of active customers, more than 6.8 million people. Although this number is relatively small compared to the continent’s total population of nearly 1.4 billion, it is expected to grow rapidly as income levels rise and Internet penetration increases in Africa. Africa’s population structure is getting younger, so the consumption structure on Jumia is also getting younger accordingly. In 2020, due to insufficient supply of offline categories and increasing demand for online consumption, products such as mobile phones, 3C electronics, clothing, shoes, accessories and small household appliances have become hot-sellers. At the same time, Jumia also focuses on supporting areas such as clothing, 3C electronics, small commodities, and home furnishing industries.
Logistics situation on Jumia platform
Jumia provides three shipping modes for sellers:
- Overseas Warehouse Model (FBJ): International merchants prepare goods in advance to Jumia’s destination country warehouse through air or sea transportation. After entering the warehouse, the FBJ SKU can be put online.
- Drop Shipping Mode (Drop Shipping): After international merchants receive the order on the Jumia platform, they will ship the order to any Jumia store within 3 working days in accordance with the platform’s packaging requirements. In the warehouse, Jumia will provide dedicated line services to deliver the goods to the destination country. As of 2021, Jumia has set up 6 distribution points in China, located in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong in South China, as well as Xiamen in Fujian, and Hangzhou and Yiwu in Zhejiang.
- Postal mode (Postal): Suitable for products with low unit price and customized delivery method when the order transaction amount is small. Jumia also has four distribution points in China, located in Guangzhou and Dongguan in South China, as well as Hangzhou and Yiwu in Zhejiang.
Although the African market serves as a blue ocean for cross-border e-commerce, there are still some problems, such as incomplete home addresses and a consumption model that favors cash on delivery. Jumia said it will continue to focus on Jumia Pay, Jumia FBJ and Jumia Postal to address these challenges. As the leader in the African e-commerce market, Jumia plays an important role in shaping the future African e-commerce landscape.
African cross-border e-commerce Jumia sellers’ “Black Friday” sales volume rules
As the largest cross-border e-commerce platform in Africa, Jumia has an extensive user base and huge market potential in Africa. The annual “Black Friday” promotion is an opportunity for sellers to compete. This article will explain in detail the “Black Friday” sales rules for African cross-border e-commerce Jumia sellers, helping sellers seize the opportunity and realize Sales grow, profits improve.
1. Product upload deadline
In order to ensure the stable operation of the Jumia platform, sellers should seize the time and complete the uploading of all promotional products before October 31st. It is worth noting that the Jumia platform will close the product upload function on November 1, so sellers need to prepare in advance to avoid missing the upload deadline. Once the event begins, upload functionality will resume.
2. Strictly control product quality and comply with regulations
Sellers should strictly follow the product quality requirements and listing QC specifications of the Jumia platform. Ensure that the quality of products sold meets standards and avoid returns due to product quality problems. Remove all prohibited items from the shelves in a timely manner to avoid delays in shipment due to customs interception. If a package is found to contain prohibited items, the seller will face a fine of US$500 per package, and products and stores will not be able to participate in promotions on the Jumia platform. Sellers also need to strictly control product quality and remove counterfeit and shoddy products in a timely manner to avoid problems discovered during secondary spot checks. Otherwise, they will be charged a fine of US$100 and will be unable to participate in promotional activities.
3. Enrich product categories and optimize product descriptions
Sellers should enrich product categories as much as possible to meet the needs of different consumers. At the same time, it is very important to optimize product titles and descriptions. Clear and accurate descriptions can attract more potential buyers. In addition, choose the appropriate size standard based on local conditions to avoid size issues leading to returns. Finally, product pricing is also a key factor affecting conversion rate. Sellers should optimize prices and provide competitive prices to attract more consumers to place orders.
4. Prepare goods and update product inventory in real time
In previous years, some brands did not stock up in advance, resulting in products being out of stock. Therefore, sellers should realize the importance of stock preparation and prepare sufficient inventory in advance before the event. At the same time, sellers need to process orders in a timely manner and ship them to the SEKO warehouse, scanning and marking them as “shipped” within five working days. If it is not marked as shipped after more than five working days, the system will automatically cancel the order and mark it as out of stock, and the items marked as out of stock will be charged twice the commission (up to a maximum of US$5). If the seller’s out-of-stock rate exceeds 1.5%, the store will be restricted from ordering, and if it exceeds 9%, the store will be offline.
In general, the success of African cross-border e-commerce Jumia sellers in the “Black Friday” promotions requires comprehensive consideration of multiple key factors such as preparation, product quality, description optimization, and inventory management. Following these rules, sellers on Jumia, an African cross-border e-commerce company, can maximize this opportunity to achieve explosive growth in sales and further expand their business and market share.