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.
Sixteen Central American supermarket chains have formed an alliance to boost efficiency and fight regional competition led by Wal-Mart.
The alliance, known as Sucap, is still at the stage of defining the structure it will use for joint operations, said Guillermo Aguilar, managing director of Perimercados, one of four Costa Rican members.
Sucap leaders met recently in Panama to work out strategies, and evaluations are underway of the operations of member supermarkets. A group of executives from Salvadoran members of Sucap visited Costa Rica to study the fruit and vegetable distribution centers of Grupo Empresarial de Supermercados (GESSA).