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.
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.
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.
With the aim of strengthening the legal framework for electronic commerce and facilitating the management of certifications, the Electronic Commerce Association was created in Guatemala.
The new chamber will be able to affiliate all types of companies, and its main purposes are strengthening entrepreneurship, specialized training through certifications, and the promotion of rules and legal regulations for the sector.
71% of consumers who buy online, return to buy again from the same vendor, whereas this percentage drops to 4% for purchases in physical stores.
An article in Peru-retail.com reviews the results of a study by the Spanish consultancy firm TNS, which highlights greater loyalty from online shoppers compared to traditional buyers.
"As a saving strategy, customers shopping in traditional establishments distribute their purchases over a larger number of establishments and increase purchasing frequency, which means, according to the consultant, there is an increase in the purchase of generic brands and less loyalty to establishments. Meanwhile, the virtual shopper has less diversity of businesses on the Internet and looks for a web service which is 'friendly' and 'agile' in order to facilitate their purchase. Once they find an online establishment that satisfies their expectations, they don’t tend to have much reason to change. "