For any e-commerce platform trying to achieve consistent and significant growth, the effort to attract shoppers and offer lasting value may present challenges. In Morocco, where e-commerce penetration is still growing, our team has responded to challenges such as a lack of trust with the cash-on-delivery option.
We also made it possible for consumers to verify that the products they are browsing are supplied by a boutique seller (authorized dealer), thus strengthening consumer confidence. There are plenty of other practices around the world that persuade consumers to buy, such as Black Friday promotional events.
Promoting online shopping through Jumia Black Friday
Black Friday is the first Friday after the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, and it’s associated with a tradition of mass shopping induced by highly promoted discounts from various sellers. It is a practice that we felt spoke to online consumers as well so we brought it over to Nigeria in 2014 and debuted it here in Morocco the following year.
We launched Jumia Black Friday in 2015 in Morocco as an annual event starting on the first Friday of November, where consumers could enjoy lucrative deals on an assortment of coveted items.
Our e-commerce platform played host to some enticing deals on a few items, with consumers in Morocco being able to buy a TV at 420 MAD (40 Euros) on some occasions. These offers often trigger a significant influx on our app of consumers seeking a great deal.
Jumia Black Friday from our team’s perspective
Attractive deals are a core part of the Black Friday campaign, which is why we conduct rigorous competitor research to ensure that our prices are compellingly lower. We then present at least 200 deals to a group representing our consumers and have them rated. Those that meet our benchmarks eventually go live on our website and app.
Our commercial team also works to secure buy-in from various brands, encouraging them to offer their products at a discount. This partly involves aggregating several data points to confirm a substantial uptick in visitors and general activity on the platform lasting beyond the seasonal Black Friday spike.
Additionally, we've had the marketing team executing one of the most visible and proactive campaigns we run in the calendar year during this season and refining it annually. They have to determine which information to lead with on different media channels, so everyone in the audience is made aware of the most relevant deals to them.
The logistics team also has to re-strategize and adequately prepare the delivery fleets for the surge in order volumes, especially from parts of Morocco previously low on shopping activity.
Positive sentiment towards Jumia Black Friday
Jumia Black Friday has received massive acclaim from various stakeholders in Morocco. For starters, it is one of the only times we see a drastic increase in shopping activity outside of regular shopping hours.
Visitors flood the website right around midnight, which shows their tremendous resolve to get a good deal. Furthermore, Black Friday’s success convinced most of the participating brands to become recurring partners.
The benefits of Jumia Black Friday
Firstly, both the local Moroccan brands and the multinationals experience an exponential increase in visibility, with more eyes and ears on their products during the build-up to the event. More importantly, they are able to sell an unprecedented number of products and acquire new consumers, many of whom remain loyal long after the event.
Secondly, consumers can shop from over 10,000 sellers, taking advantage of discounts on several products while still having the same quality shopping experience offered the rest of the year. It is also a great time for consumers to learn about new products they usually wouldn't notice.
Thirdly, our employees spanning several departments get to converge and flex their creative muscles to develop the best strategies for reeling in numerous stakeholders. The Jumia Black Friday event is the ultimate opportunity for team bonding.
It is also a unique opportunity because team members come together to properly execute subsidized online shopping, an effort that is vastly popular amongst consumers.
One of our core tenets when advancing e-commerce in Morocco and Africa at large is the constant development of new mutual benefit programs for consumers, sellers, and our team members. Jumia Black Friday remains one of the longstanding efforts along those lines, with seven years of success so far. Going forward, we intend to partner with more brands and continue to deliver the most competitive deals.
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Othmane Benzakour
Chief Commercial Officer - Jumia Morocco
Othmane Benzakour joined Jumia Morocco in 2018 as the Chief Commercial Officer. He is responsible in particular for defining and deploying the commercial strategy of the e-commerce and Food platforms. Othmane started his career in the M&A transaction department of PWC Paris. He is a graduate of EmLyon Business School.