I’ve used Glovo I think 5-6 times now and I think I have enough ‘mileage’ to give a review of the delivery app.
Glovo launched its operations in Nairobi in the first quarter of 2019 & has so far received quite the amount of praise for its diversity in terms of what they deliver. You can get food, drinks, shopping, medicine and even courier services on the app; which is pretty cool if you ask me. So how has my experience been?
1. Speed
One thing that Glovo pride in is how you can get anything delivered in minutes. When you order for a product, the nearest courier receives the order and considers the nearest seller. The courier will buy and deliver it within the shortest time possible.
The promise to deliver within minutes has proved true in some cities and for some clients in Nairobi. While the app owners do their best to keep this promise, sometimes a delay may occur when a product is unavailable or during peak hours which according to them is mostly lunchtime.
Sometimes the courier has to try several stores and probably wait in line to serve some orders. However, for some products that are readily available or already packed, the couriers deliver within minutes.
2. Cost
I actually wondered how the cost thing worked since I haven’t added my debit card to the app so I mostly rely on cash and M-PESA.
What puzzled me is how I can order and it gets to me without payment. For my last order, I had a chat with the rider and loosely translated, they pay for the products (but not with their own money) and when you pay, it basically goes back to them plus delivery fee. With the card, it seems less technical since it’s deducted from the card but the way he explained the whole process, it kinda made sense.
Delivery charge within Nairobi is likely to range from Kshs 50 to 100 but charges obviously go higher depending on your location and order.
3. Range of services
Imagine my surprise when I learnt that I can get McFrys chicken even when I had pasta from Mambo Italia the previous day! (But there are some terms and conditions which I’ll mention below)
Again, the range of services is quite good. From courier to shopping to pampers direct (like how cool is this btw)
And they also say that they deliver anything as long as it can fit in their bike. I personally sent over some fruits to a pal so yeah, it really does work.
4. Ordering plus tracking
Once you order, there’s a little button at the bottom of the homepage that takes you to the tracking page so you can see how far your order and rider are. I find this really nifty btw.
The cons
As much as Glovo has variety, they still don’t deliver to every part of Nairobi. For example, they don’t deliver to some parts of Eastlands. Also, the moment you put on your location, it sort of filters you down to the variety available to you. Along Ngong Road, the variety is incredible, in Upper Hill, the variety list shortens down.. this becomes frustrating and this is me hoping that even with the news of expansion to Nakuru, they can try and work on us guys of Donholm 😭
Prices vary
The prices you get on the app may sometimes be different on the ground. For example, my last order read Kshs 1,199 plus delivery fee of Kshs 100. When my rider was nearing my location as I was tracking him, the price suddenly changed to 1,599 which according to him and the app is because the price of whatever I was buying differed from what was on the app. This is quite the inconvenience especially if you’ve budgeted for the exact amount.
Delivery time
I know I mentioned the speed in which they deliver but it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t mention that sometimes delivery can take longer, especially at peak hours (lunch time for food orders) and also in instances where traffic is too much. I’ve personally had to wait less than an hour for the 5 times I’ve used the app so i guess I’m in the clear lol
Conclusion
Glovo is a great app that’s positioned itself quite well in a market that’s quickly adjusted to a life of deliveries and online shopping. The fact that they choose to diversify has really built their portfolio in less than a year. I’m still hoping that they deliver to our place before the end of the year 🙏🏾
