Consumers will be able to buy products from Quebec businesses directly on the Le Panier bleu Web platform next fall, in time for Christmas shopping, the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon, announced on Monday. Press.
The latter also specified that the tool, launched in April 2020 by the government in the form of a non-profit organization, was now the property of a private company, Agora Platform inc. This company is made up of minority shareholders, namely Investissement Québec, the Mouvement Desjardins, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and the e-commerce company Lightspeed.
“The government did not want to exploit this site,” said Minister Fitzgibbon. Quebec still invests $12 million out of the $22 million used to create it and ensure its operation.
“What we guarantee is that any purchase made on our platform will have a direct link with the Quebec economy. […] We will not close Amazon tomorrow, we are aware of that, but we want to be another option for people for whom buying local is important, ”said the director general of the Blue Basket, Alain Dumas, present alongside the minister. .
Quebec merchants are encouraged to register now, free of charge, to benefit from the visibility of this online platform. Le Panier bleu intends to take a share of the profits made on each sale made through its site.
More than 50% of Quebecers are familiar with Le Panier bleu, which until now has remained a simple catalog referring to merchant websites, according to the NETendances survey published last March by the Academy of Digital Transformation. However, only 14% of respondents to this survey say they have used it in 2021. About 46% intend to use this tool when it has a transactional component.
The transactional platform will also be ready a year later than what was announced in January 2021. Mr. Dumas mentioned that he wants to develop a logistics, transport and delivery ecosystem for merchants. “The ecosystem requires more effort than we initially thought,” he said.
However, there is no question of having Le Panier bleu warehouses and delivery trucks. “Our interest is to succeed in pooling the existing logistical forces in Quebec”, specified Mr. Dumas, specifying that it was about a work of several months, even several years.
Products from Quebec and elsewhere
Consumers will not only find products made in Quebec, since merchants will be able to sell imported products. Mr. Dumas explained that a “decision tree” was in place to qualify a trader as being “Quebec”.
The business must first have an address in Quebec. Then, it must be owned at least 50% by Quebecers. “For foreign brands, if 75% of stores in Quebec are independently owned by Quebec, we will recognize the banner as being a Quebec merchant,” explained Mr. Dumas, giving the example of the IGA banner, owned by the Canadian Sobeys, “95% of the stores are owned by affiliates who really own the store.”
Finally, the products must be in stock in Quebec at the time of the transaction. Mr. Dumas added that he wants to promote local products, especially those that will be recognized by the recently launched Les Produits du Québec certification.
Enthusiastic retailers
The platform is being tested in beta version with around a hundred businesses.
Mondou’s CEO, Pierre Leblanc, was present at the press conference, which took place in one of his pet shops in Anjou. He plans to register for the platform, although a minority of his sales are made online.
“Someone who is not necessarily a customer with us and who wants to know how he can buy local for his pet, he will find Mondou, he will be able to identify us more quickly,” argued Mr. Leblanc, whose only part of the merchandise is produced in Quebec.
The Retail Council of Quebec (CQCD) and the Retail Council of Canada are both hopeful that the new Blue Basket formula will benefit their members, especially the smaller ones who are still just getting started. of their digital transition and who will thus be able to reach a wider clientele.
“The marketing portion requires a lot of commitment and money for smaller businesses. Going to Le Panier bleu should help them grow,” commented Karina Serei, senior director of operations and communications at CQCD.