As a result of the economic crisis generated by the pandemic, it is estimated that four out of every five Central American companies were forced to increase their debts in order to sustain their operations.
According to the 2021 Regional Survey on economic reactivation prepared by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of the Central American Isthmus (Fecamco), the resources obtained through indebtedness, served the companies to pay payroll, face rents and support operations.
Relocating existing restaurants, strengthening the digital sales channel and identifying the areas where consumers are currently concentrated in order to choose the location of new stores are some of the strategies of the chains when executing their expansion plans.
As a result of the covid-19 outbreak, several expansion projects were affected, which must now reinvent themselves and adapt to the new commercial reality, in which consumers have different lifestyles.
Brands offering a deeper and more emotional added value, delivering to their customers with immediacy and executing business strategies from a more local perspective are the most likely to succeed in this new commercial reality.
The outbreak of covid-19 and the mobility restrictions imposed by this pandemic significantly changed consumer behavior and perceptions of brands.
The use of predictive models based on artificial intelligence processes and automated collections are some of the changes that companies are already applying in this new reality to reduce operating, management and risk costs.
The spread of covid-19 changed the rules in almost all markets and business models, a situation that has affected the collections departments of companies, whose work teams are currently facing complex challenges.
Although the restrictions imposed by the pandemic have been relaxed, consumers continue to show signs of mistrust in the current situation, behavior that could put pressure downward on spending on products and services considered to be discretionary.
In 2020, when the effects of the pandemic that caused the spread of covid-19 began to become evident, it was anticipated that consumer habits would change, since in a complicated economic scenario full of uncertainty, people would be more careful when spending.
In the new business reality, most Central American consumers have borrowed more than usual, spent less on snacks and personal care items, and migrated to cheaper brands than they used to before the pandemic.
Central America faced a severe economic crisis during 2020, which stemmed from the global covid-19 outbreak. The restrictions imposed by governments resulted in the rise of a new commercial reality, in which people changed their consumption patterns.
Companies with teams dedicated to innovation, organizational structures that allow for agile decision making and that quickly migrated to teleworking, are those that have best adapted to the new commercial reality.
The pandemic brought about a scenario of changes in the business models, the companies had to apply radical changes in an accelerated way in order to successfully face the challenges represented by the changes in people's habits.
Promoting a risk management culture, defining possible scenarios by turning uncertainty into a variable and preparing to safeguard the company's operational continuity are some of the most important strategies for facing the coming year.
The pandemic that generated the spread of covid-19, caused changes in all business sectors and also generated an environment of uncertainty regarding the future of the economy.
Following the implementation of the economic reopening process, in early November in some countries of the region the number of people visiting establishments identified as supermarkets was similar to the figures reported before the pandemic.
In mid-April 2020, the concentration of people in residential areas of cities reached its highest level, a situation explained by the mobility restrictions imposed by the covid-19 outbreak.
Greater preference for private brands, less use of cash and fewer purchases but in higher volumes, are some of the characteristics of current consumer behavior when it comes to demanding mass consumption products.
In this new business scenario, market research companies continue to focus on understanding the new consumption habits of people in all countries in the region.
As a result of the fast emergence of the new commercial reality, several business models that were profitable until the first quarter of 2020, are now obsolete, forcing business leaders to rethink strategies to survive in this new scenario.
The spread of covid-19 generated radical transformations in the markets for goods and services, in the ways people work, modified several consumption habits, and even changed some tastes and preferences.
Understanding audiences and visualizing the client as the center and reason for the company's existence is fundamental to adapting business models to the new commercial reality.
The statistics, trends and projections that were used to analyze and define business models and strategies before the pandemic lost their validity due to the emergence of a new economic and commercial reality.
Verifying the new levels of demand, offering only basic products or services, and delaying investments as much as possible to recover cash flow, are some of the strategies that businesses plan to implement to face the new commercial reality.
Because of the covid-19 outbreak in Central America, governments decreed strict home quarantines and restricted most economic activities and the movement of consumers.
Although in Central America the period of mandatory confinement has been exceeded, it is still a priority for consumers in the region to spend their free time in their homes and to devote themselves to household cleaning and home cooking.
It has been six months since the first cases of covid-19 were detected in the region. When the outbreaks began, governments chose to subject consumers to strict household quarantines, a measure that affected not only the economy but also people's behavior in the medium term.
Given the need to understand customer behavior in the digital environment, together with the urgency for companies to promote remote work, an ideal scenario has been created for the demand for cloud services to increase exponentially.
The spread of covid-19 caused a considerable change in people's habits. Remote work has become a daily routine among companies in the region, which have had to adapt to the restrictions imposed since March, when the first infections were reported.
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