(Image source: Jumia)
Break down cultural barriers and how to integrate local Moroccan cultural elements in cross-border e-commerce
In the ancient land of North Africa, there is a country known as the "pearl of North Africa" - Morocco. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, it is a mysterious country that combines the mystery of the East and the openness of the West. Now, with the rise of cross-border e-commerce, more and more merchants are beginning to set their sights on this mysterious and vast land. Among them, Jumia, as a leader in Moroccan cross-border e-commerce platforms, has become the first choice for many merchants.
However, the market is becoming increasingly competitive, and gaining a foothold in this market also requires sufficient insight and strategic vision. But for Li Jin (pseudonym), a cross-border e-commerce seller from China, entering the Moroccan market is also a challenging attempt for him.
Li Jin, an OEM supplier from China, saw a huge opportunity to enter the African market with the rise of global cross-border e-commerce in recent years, so he decided to brand his products and establish his own sales channels in Africa.
As a cross-border e-commerce seller dealing in beauty products, he runs an online beauty store, mainly in the Chinese market. However, he is also always looking for new opportunities to expand his business and try to enter the African market. During the exploration trip of Li Jin and his team to the Moroccan market, he not only gained a deeper understanding of the local business culture, but also deeply felt the unique cultural customs of Morocco. Li Jin found that the locals were warm and friendly, especially attached great importance to the traditional culture and customs of his own country. While chatting with a local merchant, he introduced him to traditional local art, including many exquisite ceramic ornaments. Li Jin is very fond of these ceramic jewelry because they not only have a beautiful appearance, but also show the unique culture of Morocco.
Li Jin was attracted by the pleasant style of Casablanca, but only emotional impulses may not touch Li Jin's real business decisions, and by chance, he discovered the Jumia platform. It was Jumia that made him determined to expand his business in the Moroccan market, because it not only has a complete logistics and distribution system, but also has strong technical support, and Jumia, as one of the mainstream e-commerce platforms in Africa, already has a large user base in the African market.
In his contacts with the Jumia platform, Li Jin also found some unique features about the platform. First of all, the Jumia platform has a very professional market analysis team, which can help sellers understand the characteristics and trends of the local market and help them make more accurate decisions. Secondly, the platform provides a full range of pre-sale, in-sale and after-sales services, which allows sellers to manage and operate their stores more conveniently. Finally, the Jumia platform also provides sellers with complete solutions such as online payment and logistics delivery, which can help sellers better process orders and shipments and improve transaction efficiency.
In Morocco, Li Jin and his team interacted with local businesses to gain a deeper understanding of the needs and preferences of local consumers. He found that in Morocco, although the international trend of Casablanca is dazzling, but in fact, for foreign cultural elements, the Moroccan market acceptance is not high, must learn more about the local business culture characteristics, and better integrate local cultural elements in product selection and brand promotion, in order to open a world.
After officially entering the Jumia platform, Li Jinshen further integrated the adaptability of the local market. To this end, Jumia provided him with market analysis training to help him and other sellers better understand the business characteristics and cultural differences of the local market. During these trainings, Li Jin learned many skills and methods of market analysis, such as the preferences and consumption habits of local consumers, the situation of major competitors, fashion trends and marketing strategies. In addition, the Jumia platform also provides a series of targeted tools and data analysis to help sellers better grasp market dynamics and adjust business strategies. On the basis of market analysis through the platform, Li Jin also conducted product selection analysis.
He found that the beauty category of beauty perfumes, which he specialises in, and more or less related home categories, are actually the most popular cross-border categories in the Moroccan market, so he decided to focus his business on these areas. Through Jumia, Li Jin has built his own beauty fragrance brand, and added some Moroccan cultural elements to the product packaging and branding, such as local traditional patterns and colors, which have helped him better integrate with Moroccan culture.
He noticed that Moroccans like deep, rich scents as well as mystical scents. So he teamed up with perfume brands on the Jumia platform to launch a range of fragrances specially created for the Moroccan market. In addition to retaining the premium quality of the original brand, these perfumes also add local Moroccan elements, such as olives, musk, etc., to fully meet the needs of local consumers.
Innovation and integration, Li Jin's strategy and practice of "second category" in cross-border e-commerce
Li Jin often travels between China and Morocco because of cross-border business, and even needs to live in Casablanca for a long time every year, once Li Jin received an email from his daughter in China, saying that she was planning to marry in a second-tier city in China, and she wanted her father to help her buy exotic Moroccan carpets and other household items. It is precisely because of this opportunity that Li Jin began to try another "home" business opportunity.
Li Jin realized that with the economic development and urbanization of Africa, people's requirements for home quality have gradually increased, and the home consumption market has gradually shown a growth trend. According to a report released by market research firm Mordor Intelligence, the African home furnishing market reached $155 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach $240 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.6%.
On the Jumia platform, sales of the home category have also shown a trend of increasing year by year. According to Jumia's official data, in the Q2 2020 quarter, the GMV of Jumia's home category increased by 58% year-on-year, with furniture, bedding and kitchen tableware being the three subcategories with the highest sales. The data shows that with the improvement of consumers' quality of life requirements in Africa, the requirements for home quality and comfort have gradually increased.
In addition, according to the latest official data of Jumia, accurate in the Moroccan market, the top five categories in sales and the ratio of this category to total sales are, respectively, beauty and perfume (31.36%), home (14.86%), food cabinet (8.98%), mobile phone (6.84%), women's clothing (4.03%)
Therefore, in terms of home furnishing, Li Jin has devoted himself to researching the "second category" of his business - Li Jin found that Moroccans also like exotic home styles, especially traditional Moroccan carpets. So he used his work with local carpet manufacturers in China to create a custom collection of carpets inspired by traditional Moroccan and Persian motifs, and opened a dedicated home goods store on Jumia to sell these carpets and other household items that satisfy local tastes to Moroccan consumers. Through the African market, Li Jin further realized that African consumers also put forward higher requirements for the quality and design of home products. According to Jumia's official data, in the sales of furniture and bedding, high-end and fashionable products stand out in the African market.
African consumers' requirements for comfort and quality have gradually increased, and high-quality, fashionable and environmentally friendly household products have gradually been favored by consumers. In fact, not only Li Jin, but also with the diversified needs of consumers and the intensification of market competition in recent years, the home furnishing products on the Jumia platform have become more and more diversified. In addition to the usual categories such as traditional furniture, bedding and kitchen tableware, other home accessories such as wallpaper, carpets, and lamps are also covered.
Consumers can choose products that match their home style according to their needs and preferences. The other is customization, which is also worthy of attention of sellers on the Jumia platform, in order to meet the personalized needs of consumers, some home furnishing brands on the Jumia platform have begun to provide customized services. Consumers can customize home products that meet their tastes according to their needs such as size, material and color. This customized service not only improves the degree of personalization of the product, but also better meets the personalized needs of consumers. A more cutting-edge market direction, that is, environmental protection and energy saving, also needs to be paid more attention by sellers.
Some home furnishing brands on the Jumia platform have begun to pay attention to the environmental protection and energy-saving performance of their products in recent years. These products are manufactured and materialized with environmental protection in mind, and comply with international environmental standards. For consumers who are concerned about environmental protection and health, these products can not only protect the environment, but also bring a healthier and more comfortable experience to life at home.
These are also the home category sellers represented by Li Jin, constantly opening up the category construction path that they pay attention to. Finally, in terms of brand promotion, Li Jin also began to try to integrate Chinese brands into the local culture of the Moroccan market. They use local traditional patterns and colors in their packaging and advertising, so that consumers can feel at first glance that this is a product that incorporates local elements. These efforts have not been in vain. With the help of Jumia, Li Jin's cross-border e-commerce business has grown rapidly in the Moroccan market. He has not only gained the trust and recognition of local consumers, but also attracted more and more Chinese sellers to come to the Moroccan market to develop business.
By entering Jumia, they have achieved a true cross-border e-commerce, closely connecting consumers in the Moroccan market with Chinese sellers. Conclusion Although cross-border e-commerce is a global trend, the cultural differences and business culture characteristics between different countries and regions still need to be deeply understood and applied. After a period of exploration and learning in the Moroccan market, Li Jin and his team gradually understood the preferences and purchasing behaviors of local consumers, and adjusted and optimized accordingly according to this information. These adjustments not only improved their sales performance, but also further promoted the development of cross-border trade between China and Africa. As one of the largest cross-border e-commerce platforms in Central Africa, Jumia has provided valuable help and support to Li Jin and his team. The vast amount of data and analytics tools on the platform provides them with a deep understanding of the Moroccan market and consumers, as well as a variety of product promotion and marketing tools to help them build awareness and brand image in the local market.
In general, Li Jin and his team deeply understood the local culture and business characteristics in the process of exploring and learning the Moroccan market, constantly adjusted and optimized product and brand strategies, and finally established a good sales performance and brand image on the Jumia platform. Li Jin's cross-border story is not only a typical successful case of cross-border e-commerce between China and Africa, but also highlights the importance of cross-border e-commerce development Chinese integration and localization strategy.