Online retail shops are trying to outdo one another in the race to offer customers discounts on products’ prices.

On Jumia.com, an animated salesman holds a banner with screaming headline, “PAY DAY DEALS! UP TO 55% OFF” and on each of the products on sale are two prices, the old and the new.

Jumia engages in aggressive marketing drive. Emails of members of the public who have at one time or the other visited the site are bombarded with messages announcing rebates on products at regular intervals.

People who do not shop online are not spared either. “I do not shop online, but there is no day I don’t receive an email from Jumia about new products and prices,” a businessman, Duru Peters, said, wondering how it was possible for the online retailer to get his email account.

But Information Technology practitioner, Tosin Adewale, said one did not have to be a customer to become a receiver of mails from online retail shops.

He said, “Online shops can access personal emails through simple search engines like Google and others. The moment an individual logs on to Google, his or her email address is already open to other users and these online retail platforms are very proactive, they are automatically linked to search engines and are able to access people’s emails at all times.”

Adewale described the trend as a harmless way of creating awareness for one’s goods and services through the new media. He said it was good for shoppers because it gave them a wide range of choices in products and prices.

Adewale said, “Most of the products from these online retail outlets are authentic and cheaper than what one would normally find in the open market. Also leading online shopping platforms imbibe a culture of integrity and do not sell substandard products since they know the whole world is buying from them.

“Most of what they do are similar to seasonal sales that take place in Europe and other places. Online shops save customers the expense of travelling to Europe for seasonal shopping. Some run home delivery services, making the process easier and cheaper.”

Adewale said, in contrast to offline market prices, online shops, despite free shipping services and high cost of logistics, managed to maintain a clear edge in terms of price while still offering quality goods.

A look at the pricing structure of most online retail platforms shows that most indigenous online shops have a consistent competitive pricing status with international online retailers like Bestbuy.com, Amazon among others.

Analysts are of the view that the price reduction has been motivated more by the quest to beat competition at a time when online shops are springing up every day. According to them, the trend in some cases has led to compromise in quality of goods.

This feeling is echoed by an online shopper, Emilia James, who said, “I often feel the products are not quality products. People sell all kinds of low-quality products online,”

However, products from most online retail shops are authentic, notwithstanding the cheap prices. Some shoppers would also attest to the quality of the products.

One Emeka Omeruo remarked that he bought a set of home appliances on Jumia and found out that they were very authentic. “I always had doubts about these online sales until I picked up some electronics advertised on Jumia and discovered that in spite of the cheap prices, the products were genuine,” he told our correspondent.

The Co-Managing Director, Jumia Nigeria, Dr. Jonathan Doerr, explains that Jumia sells at cheap rates not because its products are inferior, rather the retailer maintains partnership with manufacturers of brands which makes it possible to get the items at discounted rates directly from source.

He said, “We are able to offer products at affordable prices which are less than other online retail companies and those of brick and mortar stores due to its wide assemblage of brand partners. You just name it, from Apple through Infinix to Lego, Samsung, L’oreal and more, Jumia has been able to forge lasting and favourable partnerships with the biggest brands who are able to offer Jumia their products at reduced tariffs and sometimes even exclusively. These brands are happy and always willing to work with Jumia due to a proven track record of service delivery, customer satisfaction and guaranteed volume of sales.”

Similarly, the Public Relations and Brand Manager, Konga.com, Olatomiwa Akande, said Konga offered items to customers at discounted prices because the company bought directly from manufacturers.

Akande said Konga currently offers free shopping on specific products and discounts on others.

“She said, “We leverage on a wide variety of products-over 150,000 of them listed on the site. It is convenient because everything a buyer needs is on one portal. The products are of high quality and prices are competitive because we buy directly from the manufacturers.”

According to Doerr, Jumia leverages its huge customer base, and its resultant economies of scale to drive down cost.

He said, “Speaking of guaranteed volume of sale, in Economics, there is a concept called ‘Economies of Scale’. This concept explains that there are cost advantages which certain enterprises enjoy due to their larger size, output and scale of operation. Because Jumia Nigeria is the biggest online retail store in the country, accessible and patronised daily by tons of Nigerians nationwide, it only adds up that unlike the others, Jumia Nigeria can now afford to plummet profit margins and provide lesser priced products to customers due to reduced overall operating cost.”

“Another clarification as to why you can expect to get the best deals on Jumia is the company’s fascination with sales promotions for customers. You can describe it as Jumia giving back if you may, but Jumia is always happy when its customers are happy whether we are making profit or not.