Kijiji

The leading Canadian online marketplace turned to Shorebird to ensure their customer base was up to date all the time.
Highlights

- Over 10 Million active users of the Kijiji mobile apps worldwide

- 12 Million+ Shorebird patches installed to users in 2024

- Approximately 68 days of review time saved in application deployment in 2024 by using Shorebird

Kijiji cover image

Kijiji, a leading Canadian online marketplace, has been connecting millions of users for over a decade. With a focus on buying and selling new and used items, Kijiji has grown to host many wide-ranging product sections and boast a diverse user base, from power users to occasional buyers. With a large, dedicated user base, it’s critical that Kijiji’s website and mobile app remain user-friendly and maintain a high level of quality.

Transition to Flutter

Transitioning from a native app to Flutter three years ago, Kijiji’s revamped app launch went well, but the need for rapid and reliable updates became apparent. This was critically important in order to quickly react to user feedback as they were adjusting to the redesigned Flutter app. Maintaining a rigid release schedule with phased rollouts added complexity to addressing these urgent needs. This led the engineering team to look for a new tool to help solve their issues.

Using Shorebird

Kijiji integrated Shorebird into their development & deployment process, primarily for emergency “break glass” situations and critical fixes. The integration was straightforward, thanks to a collaboration with the Shorebird team. Kijiji’s implementation of Shorebird enabled a smooth deployment process for all of their mobile products. Shorebird empowered Kijiji to address user feedback and bugs swiftly, without disrupting their phased rollout schedule.

Our overall percentage of users running a buggy release is much lower after incorporating Shorebird into our deployment process. Rather than waiting on the stores to approve a release, and an operating system to actually execute an update, we can know that our fixes are rolling out the second that we push the button to deploy in Shorebird.

  • Scott MacDougall, Head of Engineering, Mobile at Kijiji

Results

The adoption of Shorebird has been transformative for Kijiji’s mobile app teams. The platform acts as a “code push insurance policy,” allowing for rapid resolution of critical issues. This ability has minimized potential revenue losses and enhanced user experience. The current integration with Shorebird has solidified their app’s stability and performance, which has allowed their Play Store rating to rise to 4.5 stars.

Kijiji’s partnership with Shorebird exemplifies how strategic tech integration can safeguard revenue and improve user satisfaction. As Kijiji looks to the future, Shorebird remains a pivotal part of their development strategy, ensuring they can continue to serve their vast user base effectively.

Over time, we have realized that we could Shorebird a fix quickly to all of our users, which made an enormous impact on customer satisfaction. That’s now become a default phrase in our development team, as it’s a great tool to have in our toolbox.

  • Scott MacDougall, Head of Engineering, Mobile at Kijiji
Shorebird allows you update your Flutter apps instantly, over the air. It takes less than 5 minutes to integrate and complies with Apple and Google store policies.
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