The holiday flyers are out, Black Friday is two weeks away, and everywhere in Quebec the same message appears on posters, on the radio and on bags: achetez local.
This initiative began as an emergency measure. In April of last year, with stores closed, the Quebec government launched Le Panier Bleu, a directory designed to direct people toward Quebec businesses rather than the large foreign sites. It has since grown into a catalogue of local products, and its blue basket logo is now everywhere.
The goodwill is real: consumers want to spend their money here. We often observe, however, that this goodwill runs into an obstacle at the very moment someone tries to buy.
What does Le Panier Bleu do for a retailer, and what does it not do?
Le Panier Bleu is a showcase. It helps consumers discover Quebec businesses and products, and it can direct them to you. It does not sell anything itself: when a shopper finds your product there, they are sent to your website to buy it.
This is where many shops lose the sale. The click leads to a homepage with no products, a Facebook page, a site showing a phone number and "call us for prices", or a store that technically works but requires eleven steps on a phone and only shows shipping costs at the very end.
At that point, the shopper has done everything right: they wanted to buy local, they searched and they clicked. They then turn to Amazon, because the process works there, despite some reluctance.
Being listed is therefore the easiest step. It is useful and free, and we recommend it. However, its value depends entirely on what awaits the shopper after the click.
What does your own online store need to offer?
First, it has to work, which does not require a major project. For a small Quebec retailer, a functional store has the following characteristics:
- Products are actually on the site, with prices, photos and availability.
- Checkout works on a phone, in a few steps, with shipping costs shown early.
- The site is in French, and in English as well if your customers are, with both versions complete.
- A clear return policy and a way to reach a person are provided.
- The site loads quickly enough that visitors do not abandon it.
If you put a solution together in a hurry last year, now is a good time to review it. Try buying a product from your own store on your phone, from start to finish. Better still, ask someone you know to do it while you observe without intervening. You will learn more in five minutes than from any report. If the experience is cumbersome, a simple small business website with a working shop is preferable to a more attractive site that no one can buy from.
How can you highlight that you are local?
By stating clearly where you are and what is made here. If customers choose you because you are local, that information must be obvious. The recommendation may seem basic, but reviewing ten Quebec shop websites shows that few of them state, on the product page, where the item was made.
Be specific. "Fabriqué à Saint-André-Avellin" says more than "made in Quebec", which is itself better than no mention at all. If you are a reseller, specify which products come from Quebec suppliers and which do not. Customers do not expect everything to be local; they simply want to be informed, and they will trust you more if you are transparent.
The same principle applies to Google. Your address, hours and phone number must be identical everywhere, on your site and in Google My Business, which Google has just announced it is renaming Google Business Profile. When someone searches "boutique cadeaux" with the name of your town, that listing appears first, often ahead of your website. Keeping it current is basic local SEO, and it is free.
Photos of the business help
Show the shop, the workshop and the team, without staging. People who buy local want to see that there are real people behind the business. This is an asset a large online store cannot offer, and it is wise to use it.
What advantages does a local shop have over large online stores?
Local delivery and curbside pickup. This is where small local shops can outperform the large retailers.
Amazon can deliver a parcel to Montreal quickly, but it cannot hand over your order in the parking lot an hour after payment, or drop it off at your home on Thursday at the end of the day. A local store can.
Curbside pickup became widespread during the lockdowns and customers appreciated it. Continue offering it. Present it at checkout as a genuine shipping option, at no charge, with clearly stated pickup hours. Many customers will choose it over shipping even if they live a bit further away, because it is faster and avoids wondering whether someone will be home for the delivery.
Local delivery is also effective when it is structured: certain towns or postal codes, certain days, and a minimum order if needed. It does not need to be daily, but it must be predictable.
In addition, if pickup brings customers to your counter, that is a further advantage: it is the one place where online shopping cannot compete.
How can you turn goodwill into repeat customers?
Buy-local campaigns encourage consumers to try you once. What brings them back are the basics: an accurate order, delivered when promised, followed later by news from you with content worth reading.
Collect email addresses at checkout, with consent, and send news from time to time: new products, restocks, what is coming for the holidays. Not every week, but often enough that customers remember you before opening Amazon next time.
How long this buy-local momentum will last once things return to some form of normal remains uncertain, and it is unlikely to stay at this level indefinitely. Based on observed trends, the shops that made buying easy during this period will retain a good share of these customers. Those that only got listed probably will not.