Empowering Sellers in Africa through Jumia Black Friday
By Robert Awodu, Regional Head of Public Relations & Communication, Sub-Saharan Africa
In the realm of e-commerce in Africa, achieving customer satisfaction is a paramount goal for
Jumia. Yet, this pursuit can be challenging when the success of our platform hinges on the
capabilities of vendors and sellers. Amidst Jumia’s various marketing initiatives, one campaign
stands out as a game-changer, not only for customers but also for the sellers themselves:
Jumia's Black Friday.
Nonetheless, the journey to making Black Friday a transformative event for sellers in Africa has
been laden with hurdles, each requiring innovative solutions.
Empowering Sellers Pre-Black Friday
A fundamental challenge was ensuring that sellers were well-informed about the upcoming
Black Friday event. It was vital to convey how they could benefit, how to enrol, and the
standards they must adhere to. To address this, we took a multifaceted approach. In addition to
hosting a physical vendor conference before the event, we introduced a virtual option, ensuring
accessibility for all sellers. Focusing on specific product categories allowed us to communicate
the category-specific value that Black Friday could bring.
To further assist sellers, we provided a dynamic "hunting list" updated regularly to highlight the
most sought-after Black Friday products. This strategic information aided sellers in deciding
which products to prioritize and how enticing their offers should be. Beyond submitting offers to
the unified Black Friday promotion in the seller centre, we empowered sellers to create
campaign promotions tailored to user preferences.
Harmonizing Partners for Maximum Impact
Another significant challenge was managing the diverse array of partners, including competing
brands in the same categories. How could we ensure that, for example, two electronics or
beverage brands with opposing objectives achieve maximum sales during Black Friday?
Our approach involved engaging in open dialogues with partners to understand the uniqueness
of their products and their business objectives. By discerning their target customer preferences,
such as price-conscious shoppers or style-focused consumers, we could tailor their presence on
our platform accordingly. This customization included offering various visibility options, from
homepage features to dedicated catalogue pages. Partners could also choose supplementary
displays through banners and widgets.
With an understanding of each brand's visibility preferences, we analyzed the shopping patterns
of their potential customers during Black Friday to optimize exposure and conversions. We
carefully rotated the offers from competing brands with similar objectives, ensuring each brand
reaped the most benefit from Black Friday.
Meeting the Operational Challenge
In the face of a surge in order volumes induced by Black Friday, we grappled with the pressure
to match operational capacity. To counter this challenge, we expanded our distribution hub and
scrutinized the performance of warehouses and delivery fleets, identifying underutilized assets.
This optimization occurred alongside forecasting efforts, ensuring sufficient stock levels and the
smooth flow of inbound and outbound items.
Our data-driven approach, rooted in previous and ongoing Black Friday order activity, allowed
us to promptly scale up in areas like human resources and equipment when required.
The Impact of Black Friday Improvements on Sellers
The improvements we made have made it easier for sellers of all sizes to understand the
benefits of Black Friday and enrol in a simpler, more tailored manner. Notably, we have seen a
surge in the number of sellers joining Black Friday while it's already in progress, yet still
experiencing substantial boosts in sales.
Sellers have witnessed remarkable increases in revenue during Black Friday, with many of them
sustaining a significant portion of this upswing even after the campaign. More critically, they
have gained valuable insights into the correlation between visibility packages and sales,
allowing them to strategically promote their offers.
For small-scale sellers in Africa, Black Friday has opened doors to reaching larger volumes of
consumers without hefty investments in advertising or distribution scaling. Additionally, it has
minimized errors caused by sudden spikes in activity, subsequently reducing returns.
In our quest to empower sellers, we strive to synchronize on-platform experience improvements
with on-the-ground order fulfilment activities. Our team considers the build-up to Black Friday
and the aftermath of the campaign, ensuring that sellers seamlessly enter this period, excel
during the event, and sustain their success afterwards.
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