Ecommerce Delivery – Research from the USA and a New Plan by Jumia in Africa

While the relationship between shipping options and ecommerce shopping cart conversion or abandonment is well known, the extent of the impact is proved in a new report from ecommerce platform provider BigCommerce. 77%  of the respondents said they had abandoned an online purchase based on dissatisfaction with the shipping options. 58% said they had stopped shopping with a particular retailer based on a negative shipping experience. The survey polled 2,933 consumers aged 18 in Australia, the UK and the USA in April 2019. A separate survey of 776 BigCommerce merchants, mostly in the SME category, was conducted in April – May. The report recognises that for an e-shop there is no such thing as free shipping, of course, but nevertheless more and more consumers are expecting free delivery, thanks to Amazon Prime and its many imitators. Most of the survey respondents (84%) said they made a purchase in the past year specifically because of a free shipping offer, while 50% said they avoid retailers that do not offer it.

In Africa the challenges of delivery are much greater than in the USA or Europe. Jumia, has announced a partnership with Vivo Energy, owner of Engen and Shell-branded petrol stations across Africa. The agreement will see Jumia allow customers to pick up orders as well as make payment at Vivo’s 2,000 plus fuel station outlets,. The partnership will be piloted in Kenya, Morocco, Senegal and Ivory Coast before being eventually rolled out to countries where both companies operate. Vivo operates in 23 African markets while Jumia operates in 14. The move is Jumia’s latest bid to get around the last-mile delivery problem with logistics currently hobbled by bad/non-existent address systems, underdeveloped road networks and relatively limited mapping in several of Jumia’s African markets.