Starting in September, Hugo App will offer companies in the region an online store service, which will include a website, logistics, electronic invoicing and inventory management.
The new tool of the application of Salvadoran origin will be called Hugo Business, platform that will begin to operate from September 1st in Guatemala, and in the case of El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Dominican Republic, will begin in October.
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.
Less impulsive and more reasoned purchasing decisions and the search for product and supplier information on the Internet and social networks are some of the characteristics of consumers in the new business environment.
Given the spread of covid-19, health authorities in Central American countries have been forced to restrict the mobility of people and have chosen to close most commercial establishments.
Changes in consumer preferences, which increasingly value ease, convenience and time savings in their purchases, are forcing companies to strengthen their online marketing channels to stay in competition.
Several companies that have not developed their digital marketing channels in time have gone bankrupt because of the growing competition represented by online sales.
The preference for electronic financial transactions increases everyday, but the trend is to migrate to contactless payments, which will allow consumers to make their purchases 10 times faster than the traditional way.
Specialists in the subject explain that unlike the payment methods that until now are the most used in the region, contactless payments simply consist of holding a card in a payment reader to proceed with the transaction.