Infinix is a company that has not been shy to try out new things, the company has thrown itself in the wearables mud by creating the X-Band smart band, they have even made a play at accessories such as Bluetooth headphones and active noise cancelling earphones. To add on to their growing list of products, the company launched their proprietary e-commerce platform to push products directly to consumers.
Dubbed X-Mall, or Infinix Mall in some markets, the platform has been active in Egypt and Pakistan for almost a year now. The platform, which will be launching in Kenya on September 3, will offer Infinix fans and customers access to all of Infinix products and accessories all under one roof.
Isabella He, X-Mall Operations Manager, explains that Kenya will be the second African market to host the platform. Like the other two markets, X-Mall in Kenya will sell Infinix smartphones, Infinix-branded accessories and third-party accessories such as power banks, earphones, headphones and wearables from select brands, she confirms that Oraimo will be one of those brands.
Despite offering products from different brands, at launch, X-Mall will only have one merchant and that is Infinix. “We only have one merchant on our platform but we’re looking to see if we can bring onboard other merchants as well, only if they offer quality products, says Isabella.
Like every other e-commerce platform that is trying to woo customers, X-Mall promises quality, convenience through fast deliveries and competitive prices. One thing that is clear though, Infinix is stepping on Jumia’s and Kilimall’s toes, both of which have benefitted from previous exclusive sales of Infinix devices. Prior to X-Mall’s conception, Infinix distributors have previously been at loggerheads with Jumia, in what they termed as unfair competition due to the lower price that the latter sells Infinix devices at.
“we won’t stop other merchants from selling Infinix products online”
Infinix launching their own platform to directly sell devices to consumers might be seen as a backstab, not only to distributors but to Jumia and Kilimall. However, Isabella lays balloons on the seemingly thorny bed, saying that X-Mall will not undercut Infinix partners through unfair pricing. “We will still have a partnership with the likes of Jumia and Kilimall, these are open market platforms, we won’t stop other merchants from selling Infinix products online,” she says.
“Quality is first, but we still have to be competitive in price. Aside from stocking only original Infinix products and accessories, which means our customers can trust us, we will obey the set recommended retail prices,” Isabella adds.
Shifting focus back to X-Mall, the platform will only accept M-Pesa payments at launch with other payment options such as cash on delivery, Airtel money and card payments coming later on depending on demand. As for delivery, Isabella says that X-Mall has its own delivery team that will cater for Nairobi customers, offering quick deliveries within 24 hours of placing an order. Customers outside Nairobi will get their products delivered through Fargo Courier within three days of ordering.
Like any sane business, X-Mall will not be having free deliveries, however, Isabella states that their delivery costs are quite low, “In the first month, all orders from Nairobi will be delivered for free, however, after this promotion, we will have very competitive delivery costs compared to other e-commerce websites.”
On top of the convenience of fast deliveries across the country, X-Mall users will not be required to create accounts on the platform to place orders, making it more like a walk-in, walk-out online store, without the physical walking though.
If at any point you doubted that X-Mall was an Infinix product, we are made to believe that upcoming Infinix smartphones will receive exclusive launches on the platform first before heading out to other merchants. With the launch of the X-Mall, it seems that Infinix wants to be connected directly with their customers.
Locally, the company was the first to push their customers to interact with the brand on their official forums and even have a fan club, X-Club through which the company connects directly with their consumers, collecting feedback and even rewarding customer loyalty.
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