Our colleagues from the Coops de l’information have discovered that cities in Quebec make a lot of purchases… on the Amazon site. Why is it a problem? Because the money they spend on the American site is not spent here in Quebec. We’ll explain!
Lévis, Bromont and Granby, which are among the cities that use Amazon the most, make purchases there that help the cities function. For example, office furniture, IT equipment, stationery, etc.
Montreal is the champion of purchases on Amazon, but this is not surprising since it is the largest city in Quebec. What is surprising is that it is the city of Lévis, which is 10 times smaller than Montreal, which comes second among the municipalities that spend the most on Amazon.
However, local purchases are important to a city’s economy. Municipalities encourage their citizens to shop at local merchants.
Marketing professor at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi, Damien Hallegatte, sums up the situation well: “It’s like saying: ‘do what I say, not what I do.’ I have the impression that cities are taking the easy way out.”
So why do cities order from Amazon?
The city’s budget comes from the taxes its residents pay. It’s citizens’ money that the city spends. So, they try to find the best prices.
They therefore turn to Amazon, which is renowned for the speed of its delivery service and its low prices. It’s economical and easy. Can local businesses compete?
Yes, answers the city of Quebec!
Quebec City is more than 3 times the size of Lévis, but it spends 20 times less than it on Amazon. What is your secret, Quebec?
Since 2017, the municipality has limited its purchases on the American site as much as possible to favor the city’s businesses. She even created her own “Amazon”, that is to say a purchasing website for city employees on which you can find products from local businesses.
The city has entered into agreements with merchants who offer their products at competitive prices and even lower than those of Amazon.
As David Drouin, who is responsible for purchasing at Quebec City, says: “If we want our city to be dynamic, we must set an example.”
Caroline Bouffard, based on a text by Patricia Rainville and Marc Allard, Information Co-ops
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