Vendor Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
So how does it work?
The platform is very simple. You register as a business on the P4DA platform here https://digital4africa.org/market/vendor-register/
You add products, price them, and place them into a category (e.g. food, frozen food, beauty etc.). Very important is for you to select on your profile the standard turnaround time you need for delivery to take place. You are responsible for the delivery process, however it is built into the ordering process to make it easier on the business, for tracking and monitoring.
For example, someone may order 100 half moons from you using the platform. If you have set your turnaround time to three days, the customer will be informed that the delivery will take place in three days time. From here, you may accept or reject the order (you will receive the specifications of their order, their address, and the date of delivery before accepting or rejecting). This allows more businesses than simply restaurants to join the platform – caterers, “samoosa aunties”, coffee roasters, beauty therapists with products and much more are able to join the platform. It also attracts a new market – not everybody is looking to buy a single ready-made meal for themselves. People may be looking to buy food to last a few days, or good quality frozen foods that they can quickly prepare.
A key part of our model is that we will not be providing the delivery service, as this would either require us to charge a much higher commission to cover the cost or to push the cost of delivery onto you (the vendors). Delivery will be done by your business directly to the customer.
To promote consumer trust, we will act as an intermediary between you and the consumer when payment is made. Once an order is placed, the money is kept by the system until delivery is confirmed and successful. If 24 hours have passed and the customer has not logged a dispute, the funds are released to you.
What is the fee structure?
There are no fees for registration. 8% commission will be deducted from each sale made on the platform. Half of this is taken by Yoco (3.89%), the secure payment portal that will be used when payment is made. The other half will be used by P4DA for site maintenance and administration.
Why join this platform when platforms like UberEats and Mr D exist?
While Uber Eats and Mr D provide an excellent service for medium and large businesses, they are often unsuitable for small businesses. This is because the commission is relatively high; estimates place it between 20% and 30% depending on the particular order and restaurant. Both of these platforms are also geared towards a model where delivery takes place immediately after the order is placed. For smaller businesses, such as caterers rather than restaurants, more time (up to a few days) may be required for large orders to be completed. This platform allows for that. It also allows the sale of frozen foods (e.g. pies, samoosas, etc.) that may be cooked by the consumer at a later stage. It is a platform purpose-built for small businesses, with their interests and challenges in mind.
I see that small businesses like myself have built their own websites to sell their products to customers. What is the benefit in joining this platform over creating my own website?
We have noted the trend of small businesses creating their own websites to sell directly to their consumers. We believe that joining our platform offers a number of advantages over that model. Namely:
- Larger audience
- A website specifically created for one business will only be frequented by regular customers of that particular business. A platform that hosts multiple businesses will be frequented by all of their customers, and will expose each business’ customers to all the other businesses on the platform. It will also attract new customers who are unfamiliar with any of the businesses on the site and who are instead simply attracted to the platform itself.
- Trust
- When a business itself has a website and a customer makes an order, the money is deposited directly into the business’ account. This places the risk on the customers themselves, and means that they have no recourse if the business does not deliver, delivers the wrong order, delivers a damaged product, etc. Our platform places us as an intermediary between you and the consumer, taking the risk off the consumer. We will hold the payment from the consumer until delivery is confirmed to have been made. This allows consumers to buy products from you in a much safer environment, which will encourage them to buy more.
- Support
- Creating and maintaining a website is difficult, and not everyone has the skills to do so optimally. On our platform, this is done for you. We will also offer support to optimise your profile to ensure that you receive the maximum amount of attention and orders.
You say that delivery is our responsibility, but I do not have a car or the transport available to make this possible. What should I do?
Part of what we want to do with our model is create employment within communities. We therefore encourage you to find members of your community who may be willing to deliver for you and make an arrangement with them for how much they will be compensated. If you really are unable to find anyone, please get in touch with us and we will do our best to put you in touch with drivers if we know of any. This all forms part of developing a local economic ecosystem.
Covid-19 restrictions have been eased. Why should I bother joining this platform if my customers are willing to come to me?
Besides what has already been said above (larger audience, growth, etc.) there is also the fact that Covid-19 is still here to stay for some time. Many customers do not feel safe going out if they can avoid it, and joining our platform will appeal to those customers. In addition, there is growing evidence that Covid-19 has permanently changed consumer habits. Even after Covid-19 is long gone, people will continue demanding goods and services online. Joining this platform will allow you to fulfil this demand.
How can you ensure that people will use this platform?
We cannot guarantee that people will use this platform. However, we do have a strong marketing strategy with a variety of advertising resources. We believe that people will join so that they can support small businesses and find different businesses to the ones they are usually exposed to. We call on all vendors joining the platform to advertise as well; the more people on the platform, the more success your shop will have.
Customer FAQs
How much do I pay for delivery of an order?
The delivery cost will vary between vendors. Every vendor has the right to impose a delivery fee, which may also vary depending on your proximity to them. The delivery fee will be displayed to you before you place your order.
How long does delivery take?
Delivery is the responsibility of the vendor, and thus they set their own delivery times. The delivery turnaround time will always be visible to you before you place your order. You can expect delivery from restaurants to be similar to what you experience on other food delivery apps, but orders of non-food products or from caterers may take a few days.
Can my order be rejected?
Yes. Takeaways have up to half an hour to reject an order and all other vendors have up to 12 hours to reject an order. Your funds will immediately be released back to you if your order is rejected.
What if my delivery does not come or the product is damaged?
The funds that you pay are held by P4DA until 24 hours after delivery, when they are released to the vendor. However, if a dispute is logged in those 24 hours after delivery time (e.g. delivery did not take place, order was wrong, order was damaged, etc.) then the funds will be withheld from the vendor until the dispute is solved. After a dispute is logged, we encourage the vendor and customer to reach a solution themselves, whereupon we will act on whatever was decided (e.g. full refund, partial refund, etc.) However, if a dispute cannot be solved by the customer and vendor then we will launch a mediation process to reach a resolution.
Why should I use this platform instead of other platforms?
The P4DA Digital African Marketplace is specifically geared towards small businesses. It is built with both their challenges and their strengths in mind. In the aftermath of Covid-19, small businesses are the most vulnerable and many have already had to close. While medium and large businesses are able to make the jump to already-existing digital marketplaces, small businesses are being left behind. Joining our platform and supporting the vendors on it is directly keeping small businesses alive and helping them go digital in a changing world.