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.
The new commercial reality in which online shopping and changes in consumer habits have forced companies to rethink their sales strategies, so it is essential to understand how people behave in the digital environment.
The report "Internet in Central America", prepared by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, provides the most updated data on the presence of Internet users in the region, users by gender, educational level and other details. In addition to the behavior of the uses in each country and the channel where they connect.
In most Central American countries, vehicles are the main merchandise traded through web platforms.
According to the Guatemalan Exporters Association (Agexport), according to the OLX marketing website in Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama, vehicles are the most published product category.
After 56 years of history the weekly Costa Rican newspaper will continue to serve the interest of English speaking readers but only through its online edition.
From a publication on Ticotimes.net:
The story by now is well-known: Fifty-six years ago, a group of high school students at Costa Rica’s Lincoln School wanted to learn about journalism. So veteran U.S.
Executives of companies whose customers are other businesses, rely increasingly on the Internet to find information to guide them in the decision making process.
B2B (Business to Business) companies are a growing presence on the Internet, due to the fact that the number of its customers using the Internet for their business decisions is also increasing.
Internet usage in Latin America is rising steeply and consumer purchasing patterns are being ever more influenced by the web.
In an article on Altonivel.com.mx, Google's general manager for Latin America, Alexandre Hohagen, comments that, "it is true that e-commerce in the region has somewhat lagged behind in comparison with more developed countries but the gap is closing and today there is evidence of a multi-channel purchasing dynamic when acquiring products or services".
In this new breed of marketing to the “4Ps” (product, placement, price, promotion) the following been added: flow, functionality, feedback and loyalty (“4Fs” in Spanish).
The Internet, new information management tools and methodologies, combined with globalization, are redefining the way products are marketed.
Cristina Vílchez, writing for Americaeconomia.com, comments that, “new tools are available for companies to use to reach customers.
Online media continues to gain ground on traditional media, by combining and offering a single product featuring the best of both.
The television industry understands that audiences are shifting towards the web as their main information source, not only at the expense of print media, but also of television.
Their strategy is also clear: they are joining the enemy, in order to reach their audiences also through the web.
Women still do the bulk of home shopping, and more and more of them research online before doing so.
A study by iVillage/SheSpeaks in the U.S. details how women are changing their shopping habits, detailing that a shopping tour begins at the PC, where they check existing offers and promotions through the Internet. They decide where to shop depending on what they find.
Survey: What do you do during TV advertisements? 39% changes the channel, 37% speaks with someone in the room, and 34% surfs the Internet.
“Adding Internet to the advertising mix, in addition to other traditional media, contributes in increasing your reach. This is because Internet has now massive reach among consumers, and they mix it with print and radio.”
Advertising online is not an option anymore but a necessity, and requires stricter planning than traditional advertising.
Every cent spent in an advertising budget must be carefully planned. These are though times, with fierce competition in all fields. Preparing successful advertising campaigns requires a lot of work, and actions in several fronts. A balanced online marketing plan is much more than just spending some dollars on Google’s Adwords.
When digital advertising fails, do not blame the medium without analyzing if the design of the ad is in line with it.
Phillip W. Sawyer writes in an article in Advertising Age that the effectiveness of an online campaign can be seriously hampered by mistakes made by designers who do not know the specific requirements of digital communication.
Sawyer lists 7 key mistakes when designing online advertising, identified after extensive research.