Moroccan Shoppers Favor Local Grocers Over E-Commerce During Lockdown, Survey Finds

The survey was conducted online between April 17 and May 3 last. It focused on a sample of 1,024 Internet users who "are not representative of the entire Moroccan population," says Riad Mawlawi, Digital & Business Development Director at Sunergia Group. According to him, the objective is to "see if changes have occurred in the consumption attitudes of Moroccan Internet users, particularly with regard to online shopping." In total, nearly 92% of urban residents responded to the questionnaire.

"When asked about their preferences in terms of place of purchase by product category, Moroccan Internet users only mention large-scale distribution (large or medium-sized stores) in 2nd, 3rd or 4th position depending on the type of product purchased," the study details. "Regarding online purchases, and although we included the option in our survey, only a handful of people selected it (about 0.1%)," Sunergia reports.

The results indicate that the neighborhood grocery store ranks first for the categories of water and beverages (61%), dairy products (56%) and cleaning and cleaning products (40%). The market comes out on top for fruits and vegetables (53%) and meats and fish (35%).

The survey thus reveals that although the health crisis has accelerated the digital transformation in all sectors, the food e-commerce sector remains timid compared to traditional trade and large-scale retail chains.