I just got a new coffee maker delivered to me from China in a record number of days courtesy of TEMU. This is the third consistent delivery in a row, which included items like touch-screen monitors and HD Video Cameras, all delivered accurately according to specifications without any issues. I didn’t have to deal with the issues of overpricing and the rude behaviour of self-important supermarket attendants who think they are doing you a favour and usually expect a tip or the right to withhold your change. On TEMU, it was a simple transaction initiated on the phone, and the items were delivered to your doorstep by a delivery man with looks of gratitude.
When I set out to start a Podcast studio late last year, the first CANON 90D 4K camera I got cost 2.8 million Naira. A portable camera doesn’t perform better. The problem was that I needed 3 such cameras. I managed to get a second one, but the budget couldn’t accommodate a third. Then, TEMU flashed an 8K High Definition Camera for less than N300,000. I thought it was a joke taken too far, but I played along and ordered it. When it arrived, I was shocked that the thing really worked and delivered the desired resolution, though the difference between it and the CANON version is a world apart, so is the price. So instead of one camera for 2.8 Million Naira, I could have got three for less than 1 Million Naira on TEMU, and my Podcast would have taken off without huge opportunity costs. Wao!
Interestingly, some of these transnational transactions are conducted in Naira, and payments are made with Naira debit cards and on OPAY platforms without charges.
When it was time to set up a coffee club, I visited a shop in Wuse, Abuja, and the price of the one I preferred was 3 million Naira. Well, I shuddered and turned to TEMU, and there was one, quite humble and with almost the exact specifications but smaller, going for a fraction of just N280,000 or so. That’s why I have again played along.
I will say no if TEMU or my Chinese friends have asked or paid me to promote their business. No! Not yet. It is just that I have had horrible experiences with Abuja supermarket attendants, and they are better avoided if possible. On one occasion, a supermarket attendant in a 24-hour shop on Gimbiya Street, Abuja, dragged a basket (hand cart) from my hand on the grounds that I couldn’t go into the electronics section of the shop with it. When I complained to the Lebanese manager about the violent act, he said I should forget about it. I left vowing never to set foot in that supermarket again. What that ‘foolish’ manager did not know was that I had bought four television sets from that supermarket, which amounted to almost 2 million Naira. That’s not to mention the number of books I have bought from that place, which is worth hundreds of thousands of Naira. Now that I have discovered TEMU and its consistency so far, I certainly won’t miss that place.
In this age of fast transformations in E-commerce penetrability and delivery, I will advise supermarkets to focus more on providing products like fresh fruits, frozen meats and fish with freshly baked pastries to stay afloat because when this new revolution of production and distribution fully takes off in Nigeria, many supermarkets will be closed down. It hasn’t even happened yet and Shoprite supermarket at Silver Bird Galleria in Central Business District of Abuja has sadly become a shadow of its former self and the last time I was there, I fought back tears over a failing business that used to be a pride for shopping freaks like me.
I still take pride in Nigerian supermarkets, and the Sahad Stores outlet in Area 11, Abuja hasn’t let me down for a continuous 15 years. I however welcome the management of the entire Sahad chain of stores to witness the new revolution of E-commerce and quickly adapt or be taken unawares by the coming perfect storm.
* Frank Tietie, Esq, Nigerian Lawyer and Development Consultant, writes from Abuja
