This might be nothing, but what if Jumia is planning to launch a UK store? You might be wondering why I am asking this question. On January 5, Jumia announced System Maintenance for the platform of its Affiliate Marketing program. Attempting to visit the platform, takes you to a page where you see a list of Jumia domains offering affiliate relationships. The United Kingdom is one of the countries listed on the page.
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Pointing on the link, shows it is connecting to www.jumia.co.uk. However, clicking on the link, redirects you to Jumia Nigeria.
Like I pointed out in the beginning, this might just be nothing. Jumia probably has its domain registered across multiple country code top-level domain (ccTLD). So, it is not out of place that there is a Jumia UK domain. What is unusual is that they are showcasing it side by side their live domains. It is not normal linking a parked domain to a web page.
What if Jumia UK is coming
But what if Jumia is launching a UK store? How will they implement it? As a store targeting consumers living in the UK or as a store connecting consumers in Nigeria and Africa with goods and services in the United Kingdom and vice versa.
I think the second approach will probably work better than the first approach which will require Jumia going face to face with eCommerce giants like Amazon in the UK.
The United Kingdom is already a popular shopping destination for the rich and middle class consumers in Nigeria and across Africa. These class of consumers are also more likely to be more receptive to shopping online than the rest of the population. So, there is probably a reasonable market for Jumia to Tap here. In addition, Jumia can also use the platform to connect merchants and businesses in Nigeria and Africa to consumers in the United Kingdom much in the same way as online stores like AliExpress and Alibaba has done for China.
Again, this might just be a whole load of nothing. I did not contact Jumia for comment. The entire article is based on a single link I saw on a web page
