A new e-commerce platform targeting online buyers and sellers in the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) has hit the market with a bang seeking to capitalize on a diversified product line to gain the upper edge in the rapidly growing online shopping market.
Mr Media(click to visit), which has already amassed over 100,000 users within few months of launching, allows vendors to list their products on its platform for free thus enabling them reach a wide and diversified online clientele base that is growing by day owing to online shopping convenience and efficiency.
How is Mr Media Different From Other Online Shopping Platforms?
Below is a list of 8 things that make Mr Media Online Shopping Platform unique. (Scroll on the window below to explore the Mr Media website).
1. Free Listings of New & Second-Hand Merchandise
The platform combines listing of both new and used products. This means individuals seeking to dispose old household items such as electronics, utensils, furniture and property such as land and buildings may list them on the platform for free.
A vendor may choose to post items from the Mr Media main platform or may opt to open a sub-store called e-store where all the products are displayed from. Customers may shop items from the vendor's store and interact with the store owner.
Buyers on the other hand, can search a variety of items and compare prices from the platform.
2. Free Job Listings
Mr Media also serves as a platform for job listings where job seekers can post job requests while employers can post job offers. This is in an effort to help the platform's users especially the youth find and compare various new opportunities amid the runaway unemployment rate in Kenya.
3. Free Tender Listings
It also lists tenders where interested businesses can browse through tenders listed by both government and private entities for provision of goods and services.
4. Opportunity to Earn for Sales Agents
The platform offers free selling opportunities to not only merchants, but also sales agents who can post and sell on behalf of the merchants and earn commission from their sales.
5. Near Future Expansion
Mr Media, which targets to reach 1 million customers next year, has set eyes on expansion to Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Nigeria following its initial success in Kenya.
6. Bridging the Gap in Emergency Situations
The company is also aiming at providing a bridge in emergency situations by allowing, for instance, individuals seeking urgent medical attention to list their campaigns on the platform provided they are not cash related.
7. Buyer Protection
The platform has safety features to mitigate against online fraudsters and continually boosting its security features to deal with the ever-evolving clever tactics employed by fraudsters. This will ensure that cases where vendors defraud shoppers by failing to deliver goods that have been paid for or deliver substandard goods different from the ones listed, don't arise.
8. Premium Membership Plan
The platform has a premium membership plan where vendors, for just a little fee, can have their product listings featured prominently in prime spots on the website to boost visibility among shoppers.
Mr Media CEO John Karanja says...
- On Sellers
"Most business we support through our platform are MSMEs engaged in Jua Kali, manufacturing, farming, online trading, phone merchandise, car dealers, property dealers, building contractors, service providers, IT firms, artists, job seekers and employers where they get an opportunity to reach their prospective customers easily and for free.Our primary aim is supporting start-ups that do not have advertising budgets and who would otherwise be locked out of the market by the inhibiting huge advertising costs."
- On Buyers
"Dealing with online fraudsters who would take advantage of buyers and sellers is at the core of Mr Media operations policy. We continuously update our safety tips to users while also carrying out frequent technology updates to deal with spammers."