The corona virus pandemic has opened our eyes to a lot things that we have always taken for granted. For instance, the ability to go out and shop without the worry of getting infected with a dangerous disease. But with every challenge in life, there is always an opportunity to solve the problem. And in this particular case, e-commerce sites have come to the rescue.

Before the pandemic, I rarely shopped online as I have always enjoyed visiting physical locations. As woman, I enjoy the thrill of shopping and spending my man’s money on anything and everything. But with the pandemic in play, most Kenyans including myself have had to conform to a new way of life of having to stay home.

This new way of living has had me using other alternatives to get commodities that I would have normally went in to a shop and bought. At first, it was weird for me to shop online as I was a bit skeptical that the items would be fake or not the same as what I ordered. I mean, haven’t we all seen those memes on online shopping of “reality vs expectations”. But after the first successful order and delivery, I have been happily shopping online. It has now become more convenient and I even realized that some things are way cheaper online.

I am big on experimenting and over the past few months I have been shopping on various e-commerce sites just to get a feel of each. Remember how we reviewed food delivery platforms in Kenya? Well, today we are going to highlight the top 5 e-commerce sites in Kenya.

5. Kasha Kenya

Kasha Kenya is an e-commerce site for women by women, founded in Rwanda in 2016. The online health and personal care products company since its formation has worked to give women access to the products they need in a confidential, convenient and affordable way. Their products include; menstrual care products, bath and body, sexual health contraceptives & HIV self-tests, beauty products and baby products. Having used this site severally, I have really enjoyed their customer service and prompt delivery. They should however work on their website as there are other times when you try to view their website an error occurs.

4. Zero Sevens

Zero sevens is an e-commerce site that deals with home improvement appliances, founded in Kenya in 2017. Through the site, online shoppers gain access to a wide variety of home appliances at a very affordable price. Their products include; kitchenware, kitchen appliances, and home decor items. Every time I have ordered from this site, my items have been delivered in under 2 hours. And I find that pretty awesome considering it takes more than a day for most sites to deliver items. They should however work on improving their online presence by being more active on their social media pages.

3. Jiji

Jiji is an online classified marketplace that was founded in Nigeria in 2014. In 2019, the e-commerce site acquired OLX in Nigeris, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and has ever since been on of the top e-commerce sites in Kenya. Through the site, users can buy and sell various products and services ranging from vehicles, electronics, home appliances, properties to delivery services. It is important to note that sellers of the various items are the ones who deliver. It was a good experience shopping on the site and I was even able to bargain which was unique to me.

2. Cheki

Cheki is a car classified e-commerce site that was founded in 2010. Through the site, users can buy and sell cars either used or new. Brands such as; Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes Benz, VW, and Subaru are all available on the platform. Cheki is the number 1 Auto website with more car buyers and car sellers than any other site in Kenya.

1. Jumia

Jumia is the top e-commerce site in Kenya, founded in Nigeria in 2012. The online marketplace offers a wide range of products from basic home essentials, cleaning supplies, beauty products to electronics. There is literally nothing that you can’t find on Jumia. The company is also a logistics service, which enables the shipment and delivery of packages from sellers to consumers, and a payment service. Shopping on jumia for me has had its on share of ups and downs as sometimes they take too longe to deliver while other times they are prompt. Either way I enjoy the fact that I can shop for everything under one roof.

I have honestly enjoyed shopping on these e-commerce platforms. But I unfortunately wasn’t able to shop on cheki because sis is broke. But from the reviews, cheki are doing a phenomenal job. And to think of it, can Cheki Kenya please give me a car voucher so as to experience their shopping experience?

If you haven’t checked out any of these sites, click on them and let us know your shopping experience.

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