Tuskys Online provides an opportunity for selling products at lower costs compared to the items sold in physical stores according to the retailer’s chief executive Dan Githua. This is because selling products online cuts down on the cost of holding stock, HR costs, and leakage costs, he said. “So we have cut [costs] by half. Our calculation is that if we work volumes by the end of the year, we shall be able to cut it again by half.”
Earlier this year, Tuskys announced plans to establish an online store which would complement its physical stores. The plan is now a reality and the online store has become a platform that connects vendors to customers.
“Our online vendors are not necessarily our offline vendors. We learned that we must separate the two. […] So what we have done is recruited a group of about 50 online vendors who themselves have capabilities to deliver,” said Mr Githua adding that Tuskys has been working with Jumia Kenya and has learned a lot from them in terms of technology.
According to a report by Nielsen released earlier in 2018, one out of every four Kenyans go online to browse fast moving consumer goods. This could be an indication that there is a huge opportunity for retailers wanting to venture into the online space.
How it Works
When a customer selects an item on the Tuskys online platform, they can choose to pay instantly or to use the ‘Lipia Polepole’ option. This gives consumers flexibility especially when purchasing large items such as furniture.
Once a customer has checked out, they can pick the item at a Tuskys store or the vendor can deliver it to them within two hours. The online platform simply notifies the vendor about a pending delivery so that they can take the item to the customer’s location of choice.
With regards to payments, customers pay for purchased products to Tuskys which in turn holds the money until the customer confirms that they have received their delivery. This creates trust, an important aspect when it comes to the online market. Once the delivery is complete, Tuskys takes its commission and sends the money to the vendor.
Going forward, Tuskys could venture into perishable goods at some point in the future once it figures out how to prevent products from getting rejected.
