Groceries and everyday essentials are the most requested category of products on Jumia; it made sense to launch a q-commerce offering to optimize sales in that sub-niche.

The e-commerce conglomerate has set a maximum delivery time of 20 minutes for all the orders it will process on its new platform, in line with global q-commerce practices.

Jumia Food Mart will operate in over five locations in Lagos, including Opebi, Alausa, Lekki, Ikoyi, and Victoria Island. At this initial stage, it will offer customers free delivery for up to 4,000 popular items and FMCGs from leading local and global brands.

Massimiliano Spalazzi, Jumia Nigeria CEO, said in a post that the company’s q-commerce backend will closely mirror the dark stores approach such that micro fulfillment centers are located within neighbourhoods of the customers they intend to serve, to enable rapid delivery to consumers.

Jumia’s foray into q-commerce seems to have been in the company’s pipeline for quite some time and this new development explains some of the company’s recent business moves. For example, last month, the e-commerce giant entered into a partnership with Errand360, a Lagos-based bicycle delivery company known for its local reach.

Jumia observed global names like Glovo, Delivery Hero, and Gorillas who have achieved tremendous business growth through q-commerce and sighted a possible goldmine, leading to the launch of Food Mart stores in its largest market, Nigeria. Recently, q-commerce is gradually taking over the canonical 3day and beyond delivery process that characterizes regular e-commerce.