Feature: Kenyan online shops lure customers with reward schemes

Online shops in Kenya have come up with innovative strategies to lure customers to their sites and make them shop for more.

The past few years have seen the number of online shops in the East African nation rise significantly, thus increasing competition, as more Kenyans choose online shopping.

Of all the marketing strategies, the customer loyalty rewards scheme stands out.

"We have a reward scheme called Kilibobs," said Kariuki Maina, the marketing director of Kilimall, Kenya's first online mall.

Kilibob was coined from two words, Kilimall and bob (money or shilling). It simply means Kilimall's money.

"Kilibob is a thank you to our esteemed customers. The customer loyalty reward scheme will help us build a long-lasting relationship with them, thus it will give them reason to keep on shopping online," he said.

Customers earn the kilibobs every time they shop on Kilimall, and they can redeem them for shopping vouchers, gifts or monetize their earnings to buy any item on the website.

"Many of our customers have welcomed this move that is not used by any other e-commerce platform in the country and they term it value for money," said Maina.

In coming up with the reward scheme, the online shop has followed in the footsteps of mobile phone companies and supermarkets in the East African nation.

The two, in particular, mobile phone companies, run the most successful reward schemes that have kept customers coming back.

Of all the reward schemes in Kenya, the country's leading telecom, Safaricom's stands out. Dubbed bonga points, customers accumulate points every time they call or browse the internet. They then redeem the points earned for mobile phones, tablets or air-tickets. This is the success Kilimall and other online businesses want to replicate.

"The key is to build trust with customers. As a company, we must develop a close friendship with our customers. One still earns the points whether they pay on delivery or after few days," said Maina.

Maina noted that reward schemes are inevitable as Kenyans are increasingly shopping online, a trend that has gained currency across the world.

The marketing director said the fact that more and more Kenyans have access to internet, especially on their mobile phones, and availability of easy payment is making online shopping gather pace in Kenya.

Latest figures from Communication Authority of Kenya show that Kenya has 15 million internet subscriptions. Endi