Moroccan Consumers Shift to Online Shopping as Lockdown Reshapes Spending Habits

While the management of the current crisis seems difficult, the post-crisis period is likely to be even more difficult. After several weeks of confinement, citizens are experiencing a different way of living, totally different from the one they have been used to since they were born. "Gone are the afternoon shopping trips for some and the all-inclusive vacations abroad for others. Forgotten the purchase of the latest smartphone or SUV. The Moroccan consumer is facing a brutal change in behavior," explains Salima Jazi, head of the marketing and commercial action department at the National School of Commerce and Management (ENCG) of Settat, to TelQuel. "The survival instinct is the same everywhere and it sometimes takes precedence over all other values," says the specialist. For her, "we could observe after the crisis, more reasoned, responsible and focused on the essential purchasing behaviors," she added.

What is certain is that some companies like restaurants "could move to e-commerce and home delivery to cushion the effects of this crisis," she points out, specifying that several brands have already adapted to the situation by rapidly developing their delivery services and new contactless payment or "drive-through" shopping solutions.

According to Mohammed Qmichchou, professor at the Management and Commerce Research Center at Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra, this period of confinement could also be a period of reflection, introspection and self-criticism. Especially with the loss of income for many employees, freelancers and craftsmen, "the economic shock wave is likely to be more painful".

Karim Tazi, head of the Moroccan ready-to-wear brand Marwa, thinks for his part that after the crisis, "priority will be given to the national industry". According to him, Morocco must be inspired by what the regions placed in quarantine before it have done, like the Wuhan region in China which is now at the end of confinement.

Salima Jazi also believes that a major step is being taken right now regarding online shopping. "A major obstacle that prevented the development of e-commerce in Morocco is the lack of trust. But now that the consumer is forced to do so, he will have to test and retest this purchasing channel; and if the experience is successful, he can adopt it permanently, at least for certain categories of products or services," she says. "Even if we don’t stay on the same adoption rates as those observed today, I think some behaviors will probably last over time," she insists.