French Shopkeepers Went Online to Beat Covid and Decided to Stay

Two years ago, merchants in the French city of Angers got a grant to set up an online shopping platform aimed at competing with the likes of Amazon.com Inc. They initially planned to open it in early 2021, but when strict pandemic lockdowns forced shops across France to shut their doors last year, the site was rushed into service—providing a lifeline to the local economy and giving Angers retailers an edge over compatriots elsewhere in the country. “Businesspeople understood they needed to embrace e-commerce,” says Deputy Mayor Stéphane Pabritz. “With Covid, it happened faster than anyone expected.”

Since it opened in April 2020, Angers Shopping has rung up more than €1 million ($1.2 million) in sales, and it’s continued to thrive even as lockdowns have eased. The site’s 180 merchants offer 90,000 items, from perfume and pet supplies to wedding dresses and manga comics. While sales dipped slightly after stores reopened, merchants say the site has helped them attract new customers, including some who’d never visited their shops but stumbled on Angers Shopping during the pandemic. “It’s a good solution for people looking for a specific item or who don’t have time to come in,” says Laurence Collin, who runs River Woods, a women’s clothing boutique in Angers’s medieval city center. Online sales now account for about 20% of her business, up from zero before Covid.