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How Tradar works

This is the platform in plain language. A single order, followed from the moment a shopper opens the storefront to the moment the rider knocks on their door.

1. A shopper opens the storefront​

A customer in Lagos opens the Tradar storefront, searches for FreshMart, and lands on the FreshMart page. They see the catalogue FreshMart has uploaded, with prices, units (each, kg, pack), and whether each item is in stock.

2. They build a basket and sign in​

They tap items into a basket. When they are ready to check out, Tradar asks for their phone number and sends a six digit code by SMS. They type the code, and they are signed in. If this is their first time on Tradar, the platform created the account in that moment.

3. They choose a delivery address and a time slot​

The shopper picks a saved address or finds a new one through Google-backed address search. Tradar compares its confirmed pin with FreshMart's branch pin. If FreshMart enforces a delivery radius and the address falls outside it, checkout pauses before pricing or payment and asks the shopper to choose another address. A valid address shows its distance from the branch.

Then they choose a delivery window. Only windows that FreshMart's own riders can cover appear. If FreshMart's team is fully booked at that hour, the storefront tells the shopper so rather than letting them place an order that cannot be fulfilled.

4. They pay and the order is placed​

Payment goes through and the order is created. Tradar links the order to the shopper, to FreshMart, to the items, and (later) to the rider who will pick it up.

5. FreshMart sees the order​

Inside the supermarket app, a new order appears on FreshMart's order desk. Staff see the items, the delivery address, and the requested time window. They accept the order and start picking and packing.

6. A rider is dispatched​

When FreshMart marks the order as ready for pickup, Tradar dispatches it through the store's selected fulfilment setup. That may be one of FreshMart's own in store riders or rider capacity allocated through Tradar Rider Pool. The chosen rider gets the pickup on their phone, heads to FreshMart, collects the order, and sets off. Pickup-only orders stay at the store for the customer to collect.

7. The shopper tracks delivery​

The shopper sees status updates the whole way. Preparing, ready for pickup, out for delivery, delivered. When the rider arrives, the shopper takes the bag and the order closes.

8. Settlement​

Money from the order flows to FreshMart's settlement bank account on the regular payout cycle. FreshMart keeps the product subtotal after payment gateway charges; the shopper's delivery and service fees are handled separately.

The shape of the platform​

Behind that one order are four applications working together.

The storefront is what the shopper used in steps 1 to 4 and 7.

The supermarket app is what FreshMart used in steps 5 and 6.

A rider app is what the rider used in step 6.

The admin app is where the Tradar operations team would have spotted any problem along the way, for example a missing rider, a stuck order, or a payout that needs review.

The fifth application, the in store terminal, sits at the FreshMart counter for walk in customers. It shares the same catalogue, the same stock, and the same daily report as the four above, so a sale at the counter and an order on the storefront draw down the same shelf in one consistent view. See In store terminal for the detail.

All of these talk to one central system that holds every supermarket, product, customer, order, and rider on Tradar. There is no separate database per app; everyone is reading and writing into the same place.

What a supermarket actually has to do​

Three things, on repeat.

Keep the catalogue current. Add new products, update prices, mark items out of stock when they are out of stock.

Work the order desk during opening hours. Accept new orders quickly, pack them, hand them off to riders.

Watch the dashboard. Look at yesterday's volume, this week's bestsellers, and the orders that did not go through. Tradar surfaces all of this; the supermarket decides what to do with it.

Everything else, the payment processing, storefront hosting, order routing, and any Tradar Rider Pool allocation the store selected, is something Tradar runs on the supermarket's behalf.