Nakumatt feels social media heat
Social media flexed its muscle once again when it brought to light price discrepancies at Nakumatt Supermarket, proving that Twitter can make or break a business. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- One tweet by former radio personality Marcus Olang’ (who tweets at @marcusolang) on May 14 quickly went viral, receiving over 100 retweets and sparking a conversation on Nakumatt’s contradictory prices.
- Following Mr Olang’’s tweets, scores of people responded by narrating similar experiences at Nakumatt outlets.“We just bought a new cooker. SAME THING. Pricetag says 42k but when we go pay it says 43k. We paid 42,” Tweeted @mizzminx
- Feeling the heat, Nakumatt’s Managing Director Atul Shah issued a press release saying that the price discrepancies were due to slow update of shelf stickers after price increases.
Social media flexed its muscle once again when it brought to light price discrepancies at Nakumatt Supermarket, proving that Twitter can make or break a business.
One tweet by former radio personality Marcus Olang’ (who tweets at @marcusolang) on May 14 quickly went viral, receiving over 100 retweets and sparking a conversation on Nakumatt’s contradictory prices.
Mr Olang tweeted a picture of a receipt showing that he had paid Sh125 for a one litre bottle of KCC Mala, instead of the Sh119 displayed on the shelf. He captioned it: “This has happened a number of times in the past, and now, I don’t buy that Nakumatt stores do this “accidentally.”
He went on to tweet about how Nakumatt staff always downplay the price discrepancies, sometimes denying them outrightly.
Following Mr Olang’’s tweets, scores of people responded by narrating similar experiences at Nakumatt outlets.“We just bought a new cooker. SAME THING. Pricetag says 42k but when we go pay it says 43k. We paid 42,” Tweeted @mizzminx
“This has happened to me twice at @Nakumatt Prestige. Price at till second time was different by over 200 bob,” @Shiko_Msa.
The outcry made its way to Facebook where it spawned off more accusations and complaints against the retailer. Mr Olang’s Facebook post got 1,360 “likes’, over 700 comments and was shared 958 times.
Feeling the heat, Nakumatt’s Managing Director Atul Shah issued a press release saying that the price discrepancies were due to slow update of shelf stickers after price increases.
“We would wish to remedy the concerns raised by requesting any aggrieved shopper to lodge their complaint,” he said.
He added: “We shall also be introducing digital price checker kiosks on all aisles, to assist our customers confirm product pricing by simply scanning the product barcodes.”
But Nakumatt’s problems have just began. The Competition Authority of Kenya said that it has opened investigations into the allegations and if found guilty, the supermarket could pay a fine of up to Sh500,000 or its directors jailed for a period not exceeding three years.
The Consumers Federation of Kenya too has threatened to slap Nakumatt with a class action lawsuit for fraud and false advertising.
It is also probing Tuskys, Naivas and Chandarana supermarkets.
