Does the coronavirus reconcile Moroccans with online shopping?

Since the beginning of the health crisis due to Covid-19, the behavior of Moroccan consumers has changed dramatically. Purchasing priorities are no longer the same, immense concern over the availability of certain food products on the market, in particular the panic buying of hygiene products, has revealed that Moroccans are ready to spend more than before on their hygiene purchases as well as for certain food products.

Although at first sight this could be considered, in certain sectors, as being new consumption motivations likely to encourage the act of purchase, this same health context gave rise to several obstacles to consumption, mainly the decline in purchasing power, the impossibility of going to certain stores and the high risk of contamination in supermarkets and large areas.

There is therefore no doubt that the confinement of consumers to their homes has impacted their perspectives and perceptions of consumption. This change in behavior calls on companies to review their offers through strategic and not just operational adaptation. This adaptation can be focused mainly on new distribution channels, of which e-commerce remains an essential option.

Research by Ipsos MORI showed that in China, the original focus of the pandemic, half of consumers said they now use e-commerce more frequently than in the past, the same statement is confirmed by more one third of Italian consumers.

E-commerce in Morocco: where were we before the pandemic?

Several indicators relating to internet accessibility in Morocco reflect a meteoric growth in the rate of connectivity among Moroccans. In one of its reports, the ARNT revealed that more than 74% of households had access to the internet in 2018 and that more than 75% of Moroccans aged between 12 and 65 have a Smartphone.

For its part, the interbank electronic banking center (CMI) declared that the outstanding balance of bank cards issued by Moroccan banks, in the third quarter of 2019, exceeded 16 million as well as online transactions increased by more than 46% in value and 18% in volume with a total of operations exceeding nine million dirhams per year.

This rise in digital power seems to reflect an increasing use by Moroccans of commercial sites, whereas in reality and according to a study published by the ANRT, in 2018, only 14% of Moroccans have made online shopping. The CMI also revealed that more than 70% of transactions carried out online concern only the payment of bills (telecom, water, electricity) and the purchase of plane tickets.

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Contrary to what one might think, Moroccan companies have therefore missed out on all the opportunities offered by the digital economy and the digital infrastructure that Morocco has. As a result, the Moroccan consumer is still reluctant to buy online, being afraid of attempts at fraud, which creates an intoxication of mistrust.

Is Covid 19 reconciling Moroccans with online shopping?

By force of circumstance and like several countries around the world, many Moroccan consumers, faced with to these new health challenges which impose the limitation of travel, are turned to online stores, which allow them to do shopping and various purchases without having to go to physical stores. They are therefore gradually deconstructing one of the major obstacles hindering the emergence of e-commerce in Morocco, that relating to trust in the online purchasing process.

It is important to point out that at present we have very few figures and statistics to support this observation, so we have to wait until the end of the second quarter of 2020 to be able to make a reliable statement on the general assessment.

However, several companies have opted for the development of new digital platforms to ensure the continuity of their activities, particularly the franchise stores of clothing brands, which are part of one of the sectors most affected by this crisis. . For their part, major players in the food sector such as supermarkets and hypermarkets have collaborated with other transport companies to ensure delivery in certain geographical areas.

During this pandemic, e-commerce has also made it possible to highlight multiple solidarity initiatives that promote the products and services offered by small traders, so that they can survive this crisis and cover their charges.

In general, e-commerce in Morocco has been able to take advantage of this health situation, except that several companies and traders who have bet on e-commerce to ensure the continuity of their activities or to increase their sales, failed to guarantee a better user experience in terms of the technical and marketing solutions they adopted!

What future for e-commerce in Morocco?

There is no doubt that a big step forward has been taken to establish a climate of trust that can encourage online shopping. laundry in Morocco. However, many uncertainties remain around customer satisfaction with the services offered to them by e-commerce sites during this confinement, in particular delivery disruptions and supply problems.

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It should also be noted that this recourse by consumers to commercial sites can in no way be considered as a result of the development of the marketing strategies of Moroccan companies. It is quite simply an unexpected upheaval in consumer behavior due to the epidemiological crisis. As a result, in order to be able to bridge this digital gap from which various companies suffer, we must first stop seeing digital as a luxury but rather a vital need.

Moroccan companies are therefore called upon to make a lot more effort in terms of marketing to retain these new customers once the crisis has passed. It is a strategic and complex objective at the same time but largely achievable by good management of the customer relationship.

Digital marketing also has a decisive role, it allows sales platforms to meet the criteria of natural referencing, adopted by search engines, so that they succeed in increasing their visibility and converting their visitors into customers. This implies the need for the qualification of human resources so that they are able to determine and carry out this digital adventure.

By Salma Tahbouch, researcher in management and business administration at the IAE of the University of La Rochelle