The Rise of the Digital Baby Shower Courtesy of OLX

Social interaction, shopping, banking and access to government services are becoming increasingly digitized. This definitely means that there are new ways to get things done that offer convenience and save time as well as money. There have been fears that technology is putting a strain on our relationships as we spend more time staring at our screens than talking face to face with our loved ones. It goes without saying that a lot of us are on family messaging groups that have us keeping up with what everyone in the family is up to. We are probably on groups with friends and with former schoolmates. The concept of community hasn’t been erased, it’s just gone digital.

Some of the things that have always been a community affair are weddings, funerals and births. It was in this vein that OLX put out a call for friends who are planning a baby shower to nominate their friend to win shopping worth Ksh 50,000. The promotion dubbed ‘Zawadika na OLX’ received over 200 entries and ran from 15^th June to 22^nd June. The winner was Bernice Mugambi, the reigning Miss World Kenya Tharaka-Nithi, former Miss UoN and founder of Epilepsy Foundation.

The baby shower was an all-white affair at Shebeen restaurant in Nairobi with Bernice’s friends including the reigning Miss World Kenya and other Miss World Kenya queens from various counties present. One of the main planners of the baby shower was Grace Mutanu, the reigning Miss World Kenya Kitui. Grace and her friends created a WhatsApp group they used to plan the baby shower as the ladies were spread out across the country and couldn’t meet up as much as they would have liked. Grace follows OLX on both Twitter and Instagram and came across the promotion, and then shared the details with the rest of Bernice’s friends on the WhatsApp group. They then composed a common message that all the ladies sent daily to the OLX number in support of Bernice. Out of the entries, Bernice won and her friends set out to write a shopping list in consultation with Bernice’s husband which Grace used to shop on behalf of the group on OLX.

The gifts included a baby cot, rompers, cot sheets, nursing pillow, bottle sterilizer, mittens, bibs, booties, baby basinet, bottle warmers, moses basket and diaper bags.OLX is looking to run a similar promotion in the coming months thanks to the interest they’ve seen from this one. From the planning and coordination via WhatsApp to the shopping for gifts on an online classifieds like OLX, there’s no doubt that the digital baby shower has a place in our community and in fact is quite a convenient way to approach things. The affordable prices of the goods on OLX means that women who are looking to save can still afford nice items for their babies. These same women can also make quick money by selling their babies’ things as they outgrow them. It’s a win-win for everyone.