Zavivi.com is an online store that gives shoppers the convenience of online shopping, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day and purchase almost any item you can think of
According to the founder, Ms. Edith Mbaya, a sales and marketing consultant,” Zavivi offers amazing prices on an increasing range of quality products and brands, so you can enjoy the thrill of getting exactly what you want.”
Mbaya said she officially launched Zavivi.com in Nairobi on Dec 1 last year with an intention of making it easy for shoppers to find and buy stuff online.
Mbaya says her wealth of experience locally and abroad in different positions for over 5 years was the gateway for the inception of ZAVIVI. She said she realized that her passions for Fashion , interior design and house decorating and her love for business the internet plus her experience with product customization would be of value to Kenyans if she ventured into an e-commerce.
She therefore approached a Nairobi based IT firm, Pexcel Solutions to develop the system system and do her online marketing. From there she has never looked back.
TechMoran met her and this is what she told us.
What problem do you solve?
We make shopping for everyone hassle-free by offering a carefully assortment of the most popular brands at competitive prices.
We pride ourselves in offering a vast range of products ranging from household goods to high fashion clothing to baby stuff and accessories-Just about anything you can think of! Saving you time & money, offers flexible payment methods.
Most of the time you’ll be able to get the very same product online at a better price. This is mostly because of the low costs of operation.
You can shop 24hrs a day , 7 days a week and we strive deliver the goods to you in top condition and with great efficiency.
Once orders are received we dispatch within 24hours.
How does Zavivi.com work?
Buyers have to visit our website.
– Select the Product they want
Add the products to the shopping cart
Select delivery and payment options
Review and submit your order.
How do I pay?
We accept the following modes of payments: MPesa, Airtel Money, MTN Mobile Money,YU Cash, Equity, Visa and MasterCard.
Payments are taken securely using PesaPal. For those customers who opt not pay online we accept orders by phone and they can pay cash on delivery.
Who delivers for you and at how much and how long does it take to deliver?
We have partnered with DIER DISPATCH ERRANDS & DELIVERY SERVICES to do the deliveries. Standard delivery cost of ksh.200 within Nairobi and we also do deliveries in other town within Kenya that have bus companies providing parcel & courier services. Depending on where it is the client is in Kenya, our deliveries take less than 24 hours.
Any progress since launch?
Over 100,000 page views so far. We have an overwhelming response from our customer’s see a testimonial from Caroline Mutoko below which she posted on her Facebook page who is also our customer.
How unique are you from the competition?
Our competition is indirect since we offer slightly different products but competing for the same market, our business plan has however accounted for both direct and indirect competitors alike. Both can impact our success.
Our selection is large, our Products in different categories sourced from different suppliers to offer variety– for women, men, teenagers and children. The ranges are varied, with everything from updated classics and the quintessential basics to the latest trends and party items with high fashion content.
-Fantastic team in place handling customer service and efficiency in delivery.
We constantly keep an eye on how to deliver quality to our customers, to ensure we have the products and deals. Always striving to be to be fast in our reactions to keep up with trends. Everything is going so fast – we have to keep up!
Any partnerships?
Our Partnerships are currently with our suppliers outside of Kenya. But we are looking forward to forging more partnerships locally.
Challenges?
Well online shopping does not permit physical examination of the products (feel, touch, sample and trial), interpersonal communication or instant gratification, and sometimes we get customers requiring to see the products first before purchase, which we organize.. We have a perfect agreement with our delivery company so we arrange for them to see the goods first.
As internet connectivity in households increases, and more courier companies offer competitive prices, these challenges that were there initially have started to dissipate.
Currently, the main motivation for shopping online is price; people love bargains. As other factors also start to play a role, for example convenience, wide selection, online retail is poised to become one of the major driving forces of the economic growth.
Five years ago we didn’t think we needed online banking but, guess what, now we need it. The same will happen with online shopping in the near future.
Online shopping is however still very unpredictable especially in food items and might remain like this for a while in comparison to real world shopping. Consumers perceive the quality of food products to be better in physical stores than in online stores
What are your future plans?
Our priority right now is stepping up our investments in marketing with the intention of further strengthening ZAVIVI.COM Market position in Kenya, At the same time broadening the store with new concepts and product categories .
We are also working on expanding our footprint to major cities in East Africa.
