Placing the most essential products on the website, establishing partnerships with specialized companies to ensure the shipping and delivery of orders on time, are some of the tips for companies to develop e-commerce in the new business reality.
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
How to reach customers, implement or enhance the digital sales channel in this context of health crisis, are some of the issues that reveal today to many Central American companies.
In most cases, the challenges are significant, since the outbreak of covid-19 and the restrictions on mobility caused an accelerated transformation in the region's markets, which are reflected in the population's consumption habits.
Carlos Jiménez, founding partner of Tendencias Digitales, explained to Martesfinanciero.com that for companies starting operations online, it is advisable "... not to place all categories in online sales, if you do not have a complete structure to do so. You can start with the most essential ones at this time and whatever the consumer requires, and then incorporate the rest of the items. They can be the products with the highest turnover."
When it is not possible to have a website with all the design and applications that you want, it is more favorable to host the store in pages specialized in online commerce. Other recommendations include establishing alliances with specialized companies to guarantee on-time delivery and shipping, which is essential at times when people's mobility is still restricted.
Jiménez also advises that one should "... Allow different means of payment both with cards and integrated payments such as PayPal, Fintech and technological solutions through the smart phone. A marketing plan should also be designed and implemented in traditional and digital media to raise awareness of the store. It's no use having a good site if it doesn't spread and if the consumer doesn't know about it."
According to the interactive system that monitors in real time the changes in the interests and preferences of consumers in Central American countries, developed by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, during the year the interest in e-commerce services in the region reported a clear increase, with Guatemala, El Salvador and Panama being the countries that registered the greatest increases in interactions associated with the subject.
Companies that offer their customers mobile and digital payment options, and also have cybersecurity mechanisms for fraud prevention, are the ones that will be able to take advantage of their position in this context of e-commerce boom.
The pandemic has considerably changed consumer habits, because of the quarantine decreed in the countries of the region, people prefer to spend more time at home, a phenomenon that forced companies to offer their customers online shopping options.
Identifying and correcting failures in the logistics process of product delivery, while maintaining the satisfaction levels of their customers, who demand facilities to buy online, is the main challenge facing companies in the new commercial "normality".
The outbreak of covid-19 in Central America and the severe home quarantines decreed by the governments, caused the market to undergo deep changes and to be deeply and rapidly transformed, to the point of establishing a new commercial reality.
Restrictions on the movement of people test the ability of companies to survive, since in the new business reality it is not enough to have a website to market products, as customers demand effective sales and delivery systems.
In early April, when Guatemala was just beginning its quarantine due to the covid-19 outbreak and the government began banning the movement of people after 4 p.m., some customers reported that the online sales systems of the country's large fast food restaurant chains collapsed in the face of increased demand.
Personal care items, vehicle accessories, food and beverages are some of the products most demanded by consumers, who have migrated to digital platforms to make their purchases.
In the current scenario of confinement due to the health crisis in the region, consumers have disappeared from physical stores and have migrated to digital platforms to buy their products.
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