What’s with the fake ‘tech deals’ in online shopping?

We don’t blame you for wondering if the discounts and deals are worth it after being bombarded with them for as long as you can remember.

E-commerce companies occasionally offer enticing discounts on everything from technology and home appliances to beauty and fashion. If you’re in the market for a new phone or television, its always the right time to get a good deal. However, these deals can often require you to part up a significant sum of money. It’s also tempting to be caught up in the tidal wave of deals and get ripped off at the end.

This week through to April 3rd, Jumia is running a campaign dubbed Techweek. You must have heard of Black Friday or Cyber Monday, this is meant to offer you the same.

I wanted to do an article to help you grab some of the deals they’re offering, but to my shock, there are no deals there. For the longest time, and it seems this will never get resolved, these companies have always come up with a discounted figure that is actually the original price of the item they’re trying to sell. But many will fall for it as they’ll believe the ‘original price’ on the website is actually real.

Case Examples

One of the devices listed on the Jumia Tech Week deals is the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro with 8GB RAM and 128 GB storage. A great device. The deal shows that the phone is actually 19% off from KES 42,999 to KES 34,999. That sounds like a deal, right?

A quick look online shows that most shops are selling the same phone at around KES 34,000 to KES 35,000. I then decided to check on the price at launch. The same phone launched this year at KES 34,999 meaning it should not get any close to the KES 42,999 price mentioned.

I decided to check out another brand, Tecno. The same case applies.

The deal here is even sweeter at 25% off. A brand new Tecno Pova Neo with 4GB RAM and 64 GB storage will cost you a mere KES 14,999 if you grab the deal. According to Jumia, it would cost you around KES 20,000 without the deal.

A quick check brings up similar results as those in Xiaomi’s case. Other trusted online shops are selling the phone around KES 15,000 without a deal. The phone was launched early December 2021 at KES 16,000.

Same case applies if you want to get a copy of FIFA 22. The item is being sold at around KES 4,000 and that is deemed to be 45% off the original price of KES 7,500. Even a fool would know that this is a rip off.

After contacting Jumia Kenya on the issue, they gave what I would call an ‘auto-generated answer’. Here was their response.

We partner with several vendors to offer various products on our platform which makes it possible to have the same product at different competitive prices on our website. Our teams are working constantly to get the best quality products. Please check the seller score on the product page before purchasing an item on Jumia. You can also keep an eye on our social media platforms to be updated about our campaigns and flash sales for unbeatable prices!

No concrete explanation.

Conclusion

When shall this end, Robbie?

I find online shopping in Kenya to be very tricky, from such scams to wrong deliveries or even fake products. The list can be endless.

I may be mistaken, but this appears to be an urgency tactic utilized by many ecommerce websites to encourage visitors to complete a purchase. Increasing buyer motivation and direct revenue can be as simple as instilling a sense of urgency in your clients. But don’t be fooled.

Deals on the internet can quickly turn into a frenzy. The avalanche of specials can be daunting, whether you’re hitting the stores offering the discount or scanning the web. Maintain your composure and stick to your shopping list of desired items. Always do a background check and double-check with the official retailers or brands to see whether the promotion is legitimate.

With that, good luck with your purchasing.

I have reached out to Xiaomi Kenya to get the reasoning behind the pricing and will update the article with more information later.