A large share of the messages a Moroccan shop receives is neither in French nor in standard Arabic: it is Darija, often written in Latin script, with digits standing in for letters and typos nobody bothers to fix. A shop that does not understand that language loses sales without ever knowing.
Key point
- What a buyer's message really looks like
- Three common mistakes
- What an assistant has to be able to do
- What it changes for sales
What a buyer's message really looks like
“3andkom chi zrbiya dyal sof?”, “bch'hal hadi?”, “kayn f lkhder?”, “wach katwaslo l Kenitra?”. The 3 stands for ع, the 7 for ح, the 9 for ق. The same words are written five different ways depending on the person, and nobody proofreads before sending.
A conventional shop search finds nothing with those words. Nor does a scripted chatbot. The buyer concludes the product does not exist and goes elsewhere, when the wool rug is in fact in stock.
Three common mistakes
- Answering in French to a message in Darija: it is correct, but it creates distance, and the buyer hesitates to ask the next question.
- Translating word for word: “zrbiya dyal sof” is not a “sheep rug”, it is a wool rug, often a Beni Ouarain.
- Demanding the exact product name: nobody writes “tanned leather babouches, size 42”. People write “des babuch”.
What an assistant has to be able to do
Understand Latin-script Darija and common typos, first. Then find the right product without its exact name: “any clothes?” should bring back the catalogue's garments, “a gift for a colleague” should bring back a few relevant items, and “any shoes?” should get a clear no followed by a suggestion.
And finally answer in the buyer's own language. Someone writing in Darija expects an answer in Darija, not an administrative paragraph in French.
What it changes for sales
A question understood the first time is an objection removed before the buyer gives up. On baskets where the buyer hesitates over material, size or delivery area, that immediate answer is often the difference between an order and a visit that leads nowhere.
The effect works twice: fewer drop-offs on the product page, and fewer parcels refused on delivery, since the buyer knew exactly what they were ordering.
And standard Arabic, and French?
They remain necessary: many buyers write in French, some in standard Arabic. The right setting is not to pick a language, but to answer in the language of the message received, without making anyone fill in a form first.
Where Cosensible fits in
Conseilor
is the sales assistant for online shops: it answers your buyers from your real catalogue, in English, French and Darija alike, fills the basket and hands you the order. It cannot invent a price. Fourteen-day trial, no credit card.
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