Transactional for four months, Le Panier bleu has not yet generated huge sales, recognize several merchants who appear there. Taking advantage of temporarily free visibility, they are nevertheless ready to give this platform created to stimulate local purchases a chance… at least for the moment.
One sale out of 500. This is how Oleka, an interior design company specializing in the sale of fabrics, quantifies its performance. “It’s very thin, recognizes its president, Mathieu Hoste. This is the equivalent of one to three sales per month. »
The Quebec company is already listed on other marketplaces such as La Baie and Simons. The sales recorded monthly on these sites are more than satisfactory, according to Mr. Hoste. “We knew what the other platforms were generating in terms of revenue, so we kind of expected that. The Blue Basket started from zero, it was to be expected that the income would be a little lower and that is the case, “he said, adding in the process that his company is however ready to give the runner a chance. .
Oleka isn’t alone in reaping a meager harvest from the transactional platform in October 2022, just in time for merchants to take advantage of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping frenzy as well as the holiday season.
Lambert, a Montreal company known for its vegan leather bags, and Firebarns, which sells hot and barbecue sauces, make the same observation: the sales generated thanks to the Blue Basket are rather marginal.
Nearly half of Lambert’s revenue comes from online sales, says its marketing director, Laurence Gamache. However, for the month of January, those generated on Le Panier bleu represented 2% of the total sales concluded on the web. “It’s very small,” she admits. Lambert thus sells many more bags on its own website.
“But it’s still an amount that we might not have had without Le Panier bleu,” she adds. It’s still better than many other platforms we’ve tried in the past. »
“We had sales,” says Pierre-Olivier Drouin, CEO of Firebarns. Do we expect it to be better? Yes. Are we disappointed? You can’t be disappointed when you don’t have expectations. »
Same story on the side of the Juliette et Chocolat chocolate factory, which has several establishments in the greater Montreal area, where co-owner Lionel May notes that the number of transactions has not been very high. “I think it’s not so much Le Panier bleu as the economic situation, he analyzes however. The platform became transactional as people redirected their spending in stores [physiques]. And besides, people are tightening their belts a little because of inflation. »
Mr. May, who did not fail to praise the merits of this initiative, believes that the situation will improve.
Good visibility
The companies found on the Quebec platform currently benefit from free visibility. “All the merchants who had a planned contribution for the visibility they receive from us were informed that they would not have one at the end of February, underlines the general manager of the Blue Basket, Alain Dumas. We have a meeting in February with the merchant committee to discuss several topics, including this one. »
For the moment, the merchants surveyed consider the site more as a “beautiful showcase” rather than as a way to substantially increase their sales volume.
“We are aware that there are consumers who will go to Le Panier bleu, who will see our products and who will decide to go to our site and buy directly,” says Mr. Hoste.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Mathieu Hoste, President of Oleka
It’s not a source of income for us and I doubt it will become an interesting source of income in the long term unless their sales increase drastically.
Mathieu Hoste, President of Oleka
“My main reason for staying on the platform is that it allows us to strengthen our image as a Quebec company and we are not losers in the end. “says Laurence Gamache for her part.
Pierre-Olivier Drouin believes for his part that Le Panier bleu must find ways to attract consumers to the site. “The more visibility you have, the better. But the ball is really in their court, it’s up to them to market accordingly. »
If they intend to remain on Le Panier bleu, at least for the time being, some merchants interviewed make no secret of their intention to withdraw if they notice that the monthly payments that they will eventually be required to pay are higher than the sales they will record. “Everyone is in business to make money. If there’s no money to be made, what’s the point of being there? asks Mr. Drouin.
Satisfied with the results
Asked about the performance of companies, the general manager of the Blue Basket recalled that it was “a departure”. “Sales are uneven by merchant and we haven’t had an official launch yet. We are (despite appearances) a start-up. »
It was impossible to obtain data concerning traffic on the site as well as the number of transactions carried out. “We had a natural traffic, was satisfied to answer Mr. Dumas, during an interview granted in January to take stock of the holiday period. We had transactions as we expected to have. »
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Alain Dumas, Managing Director of the Blue Basket
The managing director of the platform, which currently has 217 merchants, said he was “satisfied with the results”. “We were able to test the system in all its aspects during the holiday season and it went well. »
“There’s a lot of learning to do,” he said. We used that to find out what people were looking for, how they shopped. We look at all the research that is done. It gives us information on what people want to have. »
On the side of Lightspeed, which is one of the minority shareholders of the Blue Basket, the CEO Jean Paul Chauvet recalls that the initiative is still in its infancy. “Is this where we were hoping for?” I think we are still very young in the evolution of the Blue Basket. It is always a good initiative, but it is very early stage for the moment. However, he admits that for the moment, sales are “very minimal”.
With the collaboration of Richard Dufour, The Press
What is The Blue Basket?
First launched in April 2020 by the Legault government as a non-profit organization, Le Panier bleu, a site listing Quebec merchants, now belongs to Platform Agora inc. This private company, founded in February 2021 according to the Registraire des entreprises du Québec, is made up of minority shareholders, including Desjardins, Le Fonds de solidarité FTQ, the company Lightspeed, which specializes in e-commerce, and the Government of Quebec. (Investment Quebec). Le Panier bleu became transactional in October 2022. The new version of the site represents a total investment of $22 million. As an NPO, the site had received 4.4 million in subsidies from Quebec.