Unmarried youth (bachelors) are increasingly opting yo shop online for all their household items compared to their married counterparts who are taking to e-commerce for top up shopping.
Latest insights from ride hailing app Uber shows that e-commerce and delivery are rapidly growing posting a 35 percent year-on-year growth in groceries that the firm posted in the past year.
In recent times, shopping has undergone a significant transformation, with a growing number of people in Kenya and globally shifting their preferences to online shopping.
Uber Eats Kenya General Manager Kui Mbugua said that the growing interest in the firm’s grocery and retail business, shows people are starting to value the convenience and time saved.
“Initially when we launched we were definitely a top up shopping brand. But now we have families using us to top up shopping, while bachelors and bachelorettes using us to do their entire shopping on Uber eats,” said Mbugua.
The convenience, accessibility, and diverse range of products available through e-commerce platforms have made them a preferred choice for the young generation consumers.
She said that the platform is not only sticking to food items but also growing to, grocery, liquor, flowers and pharmacy.
African and American cuisine are still popular in the Uber platform. Vegetable spring rolls and ugali were the most requested dishes while chicken is popular across the globe.
The trends show that bar soaps, and baby wipes are gaining a greater share on Kenyans shopping baskets. A shift away from the initial top orders of bread, milk and tea leaves.
According Uber, in the review period, the most expensive food order made was Sh168,000.
Even shocking is a ride that took a passenger on a motor bike from Nairobi to Mombasa a distance of 521 kilometres 10 hours through the night.
In August, the Nairobi Africa Climate Summit led to increased orders as visitors arrived from the airport to attend the conference. This saw a 70 percent increase in airport trips on the platform.
In 2023 there a trip of Sh15,600, was the most expensive to be earned by a driver.
“The demand for business trips on Uber for Business saw a 10.96 percent year-on-year increase, with 9am being the most popular time for business trips,” said Imran Manji, head of Uber, East Africa
He said riders in Kenya proved that timing is everything, as they made the most of Uber’s 24/7 offering, with 5pm emerging as the most popular time of day for trip requests
The data shows that the top five destinations for the travels were transit, restaurant and bar, shopping and errands, tourism/entertainment and education.
