As an e-commerce player, what is your view of the African beauty market in French-speaking countries? And more specifically in Côte d'Ivoire?
The African beauty market has really evolved over the last five years.
We have moved from informal sales to a truly professionalized sector with the integration of international brands (L'Oréal, MAC, etc.).
In Côte d'Ivoire, we have also seen the importance of the digital boom, social media, and the emergence of bloggers, who have helped to diversify and improve the offering.
Jumia has been focusing on beauty e-commerce for the past year. Why is that?
As part of its policy to diversify the range of products offered to customers, Jumia has turned its attention to products with high repeat purchase rates, including beauty products. This has resulted in the creation of a beauty shop, collaboration with major brands in the industry, the use of influencers, and targeted beauty posts and campaigns. Jumia thus offers unparalleled visibility and provides brands with the opportunity to communicate and capture a new target audience.
What opportunities are there for beauty brands launching on Jumia?
Jumia offers unparalleled visibility, but it is also a way for brands to communicate and capture a new target audience. We are in the process of building our beauty category and, for the moment, all segments are promising.
What communication strategies are in place for beauty brands and advertisers on your platform?
Digital plays a key role in our communication strategy. We provide complete visibility across all our communication channels: website, social media, newsletter, partner channels, etc.
We use our social media channels for three purposes:
- Developing brand image for better positioning
- Product education
- Driving traffic to brand stores on Jumia
Who are these brands aimed at?
The brands are aimed at all actual and potential consumers of beauty products. On Jumia, you'll find women who buy for their own needs, to resell, or to give to others.
Do you use the media to promote your activities?
Apart from online channels, we do a lot of advertising on billboards, radio, and TV when we have major campaigns (Jumia anniversary, Black Friday, etc.). We also work with influencers who are able to rally their fans around the brands we carry. Specifically for beauty, we run periodic campaigns on the site that highlight certain categories or brands, which we then promote across all our channels.
Is the advertising budget concentrated on a single medium?
It all depends on the objective. When we are trying to create awareness, we tend to maximize reach and therefore use a richer media mix. On the other hand, when our objective is to address specific targets or even niches, we know how to calibrate our communication efforts and concentrate our efforts on the most appropriate channel.
For example, we recently included the makeup brand Focallure, which we just launched on Jumia, in our big anniversary campaign. To create awareness around a fairly new, mainstream brand, we included it in the catalogs we produce, flyers, billboards, and our online channels.