Covid gives online retail startup ready customers

Most supermarkets have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic that has pushed customers to shop online.

Technology experts say as customers shop online, they are increasingly realising the convenience of shopping at the comfort of their living room. This new trend is music to the ears of Eric Manthi who has founded Tramira30, an online supermarket.

He conceived the idea in 2017, but put it on ice until May this year, when he rolled out its operations. And apparently, he couldn’t have implemented the idea at a better time. Although it has been in existence for barely six months, the retailer now boasts of over 10,000 customers in Kenya and Uganda.

Was he inspired by Covid-19 to set shop? Mr Manthi says that is not the case.

“I didn’t foresee this Covid-19 pandemic but I have always foreseen a situation where we will no longer have physical supermarkets due to high costs,” notes Mr Manthi, who holds a degree in business administration and a diploma in information technology.

“This shop seeks to help customers access goods and services at the comfort of their homes or wherever they find it convenient,” he says.

From groceries to electronics and other household items, the online supermarket offers a wide range of goods. The retailer also allows a customer to shop using mobile money, bit-coins, PayPal and other online payments.

The platform has also adopted the cash payback system where the firm shares profits with its customers.

The concept, Mr Manthi says, is aimed at benefiting the community by sharing profits at a ratio of 40:30:30 where 40 percent goes to the buyer, 30 percent to the person who introduced or referred a buyer to the supermarket while 30 percent goes to the firm.

"We are encouraging partnerships with other companies including stockists. The idea is to assist the community help one another indirectly. When you shop you ensure that someone else will also benefit...the points accumulate and enable you to buy items," Mr Manthi tells Digital Business.

“The advantage of e-commerce is that the pricing is very competitive compared to physical supermarkets. Most people don’t shop in the neighbourhood because of higher prices but we ensure that our stockists offer fair prices.”

The e-commerce platform, he says, has been instrumental in helping decongest public places during the Covid-19 pandemic.

More importantly, the retail platform has created employment for the youth including motorcyclists and taxes used for delivery services. The customer chooses the mode of transport to deliver their orders at their doorstep.

Currently, the online supermarket has indirectly employed more than 10,000 and another 30 directly.

"You don't need to pay rent to deliver or stock your items. This will go a long way in addressing the problem of many supermarkets which have been closed due to the high cost of operations including payment of rent and power bills," explains Mr Manthi.

Some of the challenges he faces include technophobia as some shoppers, especially the elderly, still prefer physical supermarkets for fear of losing their money.

Way to go

However, the 40-year-old entrepreneur believes that online supermarkets is the way to go for entrepreneurs who desire to operate a retail business, as it cuts out a number of major costs.

Retail chains in the country and in the region have been grappling with high cost of rent coupled with huge wage bills is pushing them to the brink of collapse.

A number of local and regional supermarkets have closed shop or scaled-down operations in the past five years due to a number of factors blamed on high cost of operations that eat into profit margins. However, Mr Manthi is of the opinion that going digital will remedy the situation.

The online supermarket concept, notes Mr Manthi, will end the problem of counterfeits which have flooded the market as the goods are sourced directly from the factory.

“We get our items directly from the manufacturers to ensure that the consumers get access to genuine products,” he notes.

The techpreneur says Kenyan youth have innovative ideas and need support to actualise them.

“Many young people have good ideas but lack capital. Such young entrepreneurs should be trained on how to use technology to create jobs,” says Mr Manthi, who has started spreading the company’s wings to Uganda and Tanzania.

He urges financial institutions to help deal with digital financial fraud by coming up with special digital cards tailored for online business.

“If banks can come up with special ATM cards to allow online transactions without directly linking their money in their accounts that will ensure safe transactions and have trust in online businesses,” said the techie.