Rabat – As smartphone usage continues to spread through Morocco, the potential for mobile commerce in the country grows, says e-commerce leader Jumia in its latest report.
The company presented its “White Paper Morocco Mobile 2017” during a press lunch hosted by Bastien Moreau Director General of Jumia Morocco and Benoît De Vigne, Marketing Manager of Jumia Morocco on Wednesday, April 19, 2017.
The white paper outlined how the electronic market has democratized mobile internet use. With more consumers adopting electronic technology, smartphone culture, and various mobile brands, the role of mobile commerce (m-commerce) is increasing in the market.
The report was part of the company’s 2017 Mobile Africa Study, which was carried out in 15 African countries, namely Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Mozambique, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Senegal.
Together, these countries generate more than 80% of Africa’s GDP.
Smartphone penetration and usage rate is increasing rapidly
Jumia highlighted that the mobile sector continues to flourish in the Kingdom.
Out of 35.06 million citizens, the sector recorded 43.31 million mobile subscribers at the end of 2016, with a penetration rate of 124%, compared with an overall rate of 80% in Africa.
With 8.1 million Moroccan mobile internet users, making up 23% of the population, “m-commerce is growing as fast as the mobile sector.”
In Africa, the number of mobile internet users was at 28% by the end of 2016. These figures are expected to increase to around 55% by 2020, thanks to the diversity of services and prices offered by smartphone manufacturers and mobile operators.
The decline in the average price of smartphones, geared the growth rate of penetration, allowed Smart phones to become an increasingly popular technology among Moroccan consumers with different incomes.
Smartphones continue to be be Jumia’s most popular product in Morocco, both in number of items sold and in income generated. The sales of smartphones jumped by 108% between 2013 and 2016, driven by an increasing range of smartphone prices and the wide number choices in the market.
M-commerce: Morocco’s Commerce Future
M-commerce has gained an important place in the world of e-commerce according to Jumia, proving that it is not a passing trend among Moroccan consumers.
Jumia highlighted that 73 percent of its clients visit Jumia through their phones, with a successful purchase rate of 70 percent. The company added that 15 percent of mobile users use the Jumia app, while 58 percent% use the mobile version of the site.
Jumia, in partnership with Orange, one of three licensed telecommunications operators in Morocco, promised to raise the standards of e-commerce in the country by using ever more innovative approaches.
In addition, Jumia Morocco and the Interbank Money Center (IMC) have announced the launch of a new offer to promote online payment by credit card, intending to raise the share of online card payments on merchant sites and develop mobile payment in Morocco by offering a 10% reduction for each customer paying by an online credit card.
