First Impressions: Glovo Kenya for On-Demand Delivery Services In Nairobi

On-demand logistics has become a major thing in Kenya. Ever since the likes of Uber, Taxify and LittleCab took over the local taxi hailing scene, we take it completely for granted that you can push a button on your smartphone and something happens nearly instantly in the real world.

This trend is fast expanding to all sorts of use cases due to our ever growing need for instant gratification and reducing the time required to getting things done. Indeed, there is an emerging middle-class Kenyan lifestyle that is ‘always on, always connected and always real-time’ thanks to smartphones, mobile apps and broadband Internet.

Yesterday was one of those typical hectic days in Nairobi that found me running from meeting to meeting in what was a scorchingly hot day that makes you all sorts of sluggish. As much as I try to make I have lunch at restaurants that require me to walk to so as to get my ‘steps’ in for the day, there was no way it was going to happen yesterday.

Enter Glovo. Glovo is a global player in the on-demand delivery logistics space. They recently launched in Kenya and yesterday was the perfect opportunity for me to try them out. What Glovo does is that they can deliver anything for you, or, to you, via their mobile app.

This means that Glovo is more than a food delivery service like UberEATS or Jumia Food — They can deliver anything (provided it fits in their delivery bag on a BodaBoda). Glovo works on Android and iOS mobile devices meaning pretty much anyone can use it.

I fired up the Glovo App where I had a coupon for Kes. 400.00 for my very first order. This is a great strategy for Glovo in that it drives trial and ensures people can get a sense of their offering, affordably. The next thing is that I was able to access the menu to pick out my preferred restaurant.

I decided to settle on Connect Coffee to make my order for lunch using the really well designed Glovo mobile app user experience (UX). One thing I noticed is that I could pay by cash or credit card but there was no M-Pesa payment option integrated directly into the app. This is not a big issue since you can also pay by M-Pesa when your order is delivered.

What happened next was really cool in that I received updates via the Glovo mobile app confirming that my order had been placed and at every stage of the process I could see updates, in real-time. I could also see the Glovo courier on a map as he made his way to me to make the delivery. The icing on the cake was getting a call when the order was running later than the maximum 45 minutes delivery time and I got a free delivery!

Once the order was delivered, I managed to pay in cash and also signed off on the Glovo courier’s mobile app showing had been delivered. To note is that Glovo charges as little as Kes. 50.00 per delivery and a maximum of Kes. 100.00 (yes, you read that right!). I am not sure how they have such low rates but I am sure this will drive uptake with business and individual customers as it’s seriously inexpensive compared to other alternatives.

During the next week or so, I am going to increasingly use Glovo for other types of deliveries and will share my experiences here to see how well it meets my needs. If you want to grab a free coupon for Kes. 400.00 on Glovo, you can use my code in the mobile app as TNDMKEM for orders of Kes. 800.00 or more. You can also download the mobile app for iOS here and the Android here.