It’s now becoming a habit that every year, Jumia Kenya holds a heavily discounted shopping spree to mark the annual Black Friday event. It happened last year and it’s happening again, where you get up to 70% discount on all products, a slightly shorter shopping period, but on a wider variety of products, including over 2.5 million from global merchants.
Having already kicked-off, the Jumia Black Friday 2018 promotion has more than 3 million deals. Now, let that sink in first. Of course, you can’t go through all of them just to find that smartphone, tablet or TV of your choice. But rather than give you suggestions of the best [smartphone] deals you can get during this shopping extravaganza, let’s talk about the tips and tricks you need to employ in order to make the most out of this promotion. Not just with respect to Android stuff, but any other product you might want to grab from the giant retailer during this month-long event.
Download the Jumia app
If you really want to get the most out of this Black Friday 2018 shopping spree, download the Jumia mobile app, if you haven’t yet. This is where nearly all the best deals live, be it from flash sales, treasure hunts or even the use of vouchers.
Of course, there is still something for users of the web version, but you will miss out a lot if you choose against installing the app. It’s free to download and install from the Play Store link below.
Make sure to fill in all the required details, including shipping address, before embarking on your shopping spree for this might come to haunt you later on.
Watch out for flash sales
You must have already heard of flash sales. Although not my favorite model, they can sometimes work miracles. During flash sales, prices of products are discounted for a limited amount of time or based on the available stock. You have to be there at the right moment or miss out. It’s that simple!
During Jumia Black Friday 2018, there will be at least five flash sales every day and ten flash sales every Friday distributed evenly across the entire day. Usually, flash sales may last an hour or two, but to be sure of buying one of the products on offer, you got to try and get there first and be fast in your dealings, ahead of everyone else. And that’s not even the worst part of flash sales.
Wait until you are first to arrive on the product page, but on checking out, you have the wrong address details or haven’t updated them since you moved. Now that right there is what I mentioned earlier could come to haunt you later on and it can be really annoying, so make sure you have set up your Jumia account in advance to avoid any drama when checking out.
Treasure hunts are there too
Treasure hunts are another way you can score some of the best deals during this Black Friday 2018 event. Here, what happens is that Jumia gives you a chance to hunt and find a given product that is hidden somewhere on the platform and buy it at an unbelievable price. For instance, some people have already walked away with the Oppo Find X at just Sh 5, a phone that usually retails in the regions of Sh 100,000.
IT IS LIVE!! Oppo Find X is live. Go find it. Here we go! ===> https://t.co/oYpgAEDrby #JumiaBlackFridaysKE pic.twitter.com/uNy9GNWmRh
— Jumia Kenya (@JumiaKenya) November 2, 2018
Usually, Jumia will throw in a few hints to make life a little easier for you, but this happens during the treasure hunt via their social media accounts, so be sure to follow them on Twitter or like their Facebook page to get these hints.
For the period ending November 30th, there will be two treasure hunts every day and five treasure hunts every Friday, so be sure to stay tuned.
Voucher gifts will save you a few more hundred shillings
Even with the discounted products, there is still room to save a few more shillings with the help of voucher gifts. Jumia is already having plenty of them and more will be available throughout the month via the mobile app, so be sure to download it.
Just browse through the app’s homepage and you should see a “Vouchers of the week” section, as seen in the screengrab(s) above. Tap on “Redeem now” and you are good to go, but do keep in mind that you have to enter the voucher code provided before checking out, otherwise, the discount won’t be applied to your purchase.
Jumia Express guarantees the safety of your product
There are hundreds of merchants that ply their trade on Jumia and all will want a share of the spoils, however, not all of them have the same offers in place. To guarantee that you are buying from a well-reputed merchant on the platform, be sure to look out for the Jumia Express badge. This not only gives you the assurance you need but also promises safe delivery of your product as well as free shipping for orders above Sh 4,000, although the latter case isn’t applicable to those of us outside Nairobi (Smh!).
Also, the Jumia Express badge gives the assurance that you aren’t buying from global merchants who usually deliver products after about a month from the day of purchase and in some cases, their products are overpriced.
Pay with VISA for free delivery
There are several ways Jumees can use to make payments after purchasing a product. Of course, the most popular one is M-PESA, but boy, did you know that you can enjoy free shipping when you make payments using your VISA card? Well, now you know.
Technically, paying with a VISA card will shave Sh 250 off your delivery fee, and since some products (and regions) only need about Sh 200 for shipping, you will be getting your product for free.
Avoid global sellers or wait for a month
If possible, avoid global merchants on Jumia Kenya. While there is no doubt changes have been rung in the pricing department since I wrote this article, the turnaround time is still something not so many can handle. It takes nearly a month for a product to be shipped from overseas to Kenya, so be sure the patience in you can handle this, otherwise, just buy locally.
On the brighter side, buying from an overseas merchant via Jumia saves you a lot in terms of time and money usually spent at the KRA customs office when you buy directly from Chinese retailers.
It’s worth noting that while Jumia Black Friday 2018 will end on November 30th, it definitely won’t put an end to the usefulness of some of these tips towards making your online shopping experience the best ever.