Promoting e-commerce in Algeria by adding official stores on the Jumia platform

For a long time now, the Algerian market has been ripe with opportunities for e-commerce businesses, with the Algerian National Trader and Artisan Association estimating the market potential at USD$5 billion. Nevertheless, face-to-face retail purchasing is more common, and consumer trust in online marketplaces still lags behind, which continues to have a negative impact on e-commerce.

Increasing trust by emphasizing product authenticity

Our e-commerce platform has a multitude of elements that provide information and build trust, such as multi-angle product images, product descriptions, verified customer ratings and more. We also provide details on seller performance such as order fulfillment rates, quality scores and overall customer ratings, to mention but a few.

Jumia Algeria took the initiative to give certain sellers official store status to remedy any doubts that consumers may have about their product’s authenticity and is now mature in the process. However, such efforts aren’t worth much if they aren’t creatively infused into our platform to enhance the user experience for both sellers and consumers.

To this end, we re-analysed the customer journey to identify the most common paths to a purchase, singling out the points at which consumers are most proactive. This was to ensure that the official store reminder is evident when they select a product category, search a specific term, and view and click on a product thumbnail.

Aside from the on-platform user experience, we had to determine which entities this feature would benefit most and give consumers equitable access. This is why we emphasized the combination of local SMEs, large multinationals and public organisations to help reinforce their legitimacy online.

Our progress thus far

Having started with only five official stores, we have since increased that number to more than 100 official stores on Jumia Algeria. We have also managed to diversify the product offerings tied to sellers with official store status, including having official school books organised according to subjects and syllabus stages on our platform.

Added to this, we helped sellers of varying scales to fortify their brands online, be it local stores like Miellerie Mazouni dealing in honey, electronics giants like Samsung and LG, apparel titans like Nike, and personal care producers like Venus and Nivea.

How the official store feature benefits sellers and consumers

• First and foremost, consumers can confirm the authenticity of a product the minute they see the “Official Store/Boutique Officielle” label.

• Sellers benefit from the conversion-friendly positioning that comes with having official store status. A dedicated tab labeled “100% Official” converges all official stores in one place for easy access.

Additionally, official stores are first in line as search bar suggestions, which increases visibility for such sellers’ products. This also makes navigation much smoother for consumers.

• Consumers who purchase from official stores have the longest return period, currently at 15 days. They can also view in-depth and accurate information on the other offers and conditions attached to the product, such as warranties and after-sales support like assembling and maintenance.

• As sellers attain official store status, they can also learn other ways to appeal to consumers who value authenticity. Sellers will quickly know the additional boxes to check to acquire and retain quality-sensitive consumers, from ideal pricing to proper packaging, relevant product descriptions, and high-quality product images.

At Jumia, we promote ideation and development that makes online shopping transcend the physical outlet shopping experience. Our team remains aware of the cultural landscape and factors it into top tier features that shape the on-platform experience for sellers and consumers.

Ultimately, we intend to make all types of product and service providers in the public and private sectors feel welcome within our e-commerce ecosystem so they can amplify the value given to consumers.

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Sofiane Meghlaoui Chief Marketing Officer - Jumia Algeria

With a background in Economics & Finance and Management Consultancy, Sofiane has been working as a management consultant in Canada and in the Telecom industry with digital and payment services before joining Jumia Algeria as a Chief Marketing Officer in July 2020