Spanish delivery app Glovo is the most preferred digital platform for the delivery of food and groceries in Kenya, a new market survey has revealed.
A newly published online food and grocery delivery platforms market study report by the Competition Authority of Kenya showed that Glovo is the most used platform for online food delivery at 33 percent.
The platform is also mostly preferred for grocery deliveries at 46 percent, beating Jumia to second place with a preference rate of 35 percent.
“Most of the online platform consumers use Glovo, with a share of 33 percent, followed by Jumia at 23 percent.
“Uber Eats comes third at 21 percent, while Bolt Food and Yum Deliveries recorded 16 percent and two percent preference levels, respectively. Glovo remains the most preferred online food and grocery delivery platform by consumers,” the study indicates.
Traditional shopping
Glovo is involved in the delivery of various products, including food, and is described by the competition watchdog as a pioneering multi-category delivery platform with operations in 25 countries covering Southern and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Online food and grocery platforms with operations in Kenya are mostly foreign-owned and have their headquarters abroad, except Jumia Food.
The CAK has credited the growth of online food and grocery markets in Kenya to the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced consumers to abandon traditional shopping and eating out behaviours.
The survey puts the penetration of e-commerce in Kenya, including online food and grocery shopping as of 2020 at 40.3 percent, with the potential to rise to 53.6 percent by 2025.
The rapid growth of online food and grocery shopping in Kenya is also attributable to the increased need for convenience and proficient delivery services.
Despite the emergence of the e-commerce subsector, CAK notes that the industry lacks specific regulations.
“Based on the findings of the study, there are no explicit regulations for online food and grocery platforms in Kenya. Nonetheless, there exist regulations under the Competition Act, the Kenya Information and Communication Act, the Anti-Counterfeit Act, the Kenya Standards Act, the Data Protection Act, and the Trade Descriptions Act that touch on various aspects of online food and grocery platforms activities,” the survey adds.
Outside of the mainstream platforms, large retail chains such as Carrefour, Naivas, Quickmart, and Chandarana have their own delivery platforms.
Despite the growing preference for online delivery platforms, the players do not have market power over retailers such as restaurants and supermarkets.
This is because retailers are responsible for setting product prices on platforms and are not restricted on the number of platforms they can register with; hence they compete favourably across the various platforms.
The CAK has advocated for the development of a framework for self-regulation including the development and implementation of codes of conduct even as it highlights its continued efforts to assess existing powers and approaches and consumer welfare in the industry.
The authority for instance says it will analyze the contract terms between couriers and platforms to determine whether the former has a superior bargaining position and the abuse of the same.
