New online shopping app starts

On Tuesday, July 23, 2019 Abiy Selassie introduced Ethiopia’s first online shopping application called Addis Merkato at Bellevue Hotel in the presence of local media and partners. The app was launched this Friday.
Addis Mercato is an e-commerce company with logistics services that offers products from supermarkets, electronics, home appliances, local vendors, and others. It currently works with 15 companies and functions in Addis; but intends to work with more companies and in other towns. The app allows Diaspora purchase goods and have them delivered to family and friends quickly and in some cases on the same day. The app adapts an e-payment system and remuneration is done via Pay Pal and Yene Pay (which also happens to be Addis Merkato’s partner). The app is not linked to the customer’s bank account but rather uses Nobel Wallet to perform the transaction.
The managing director of Addis Merkato started by expressing his gratitude to everyone. He said that Addis Merkato has created a way consumers can purchase what they desire without worrying about traffic or parking spaces. The app has a tracking system allowing customers to track their order being delivered to their whereabouts. The managing director said customers are only charged for delivery, and the price varies depending on the urgency of the order.
To use the app a person registers their name and address and selects a language. The app has classified goods in various categories and departments so that customers can easily find what they need. Customers can compare product by size, price, quality, and color. Addis Merkato offers detailed product descriptions which is a very significant part of shopping. In addition it recommends items according to previous choices or trends. The app uses a QR code that helps deliver the products to the right customer.