Reducing delivery times of products sold through digital channels and maintaining different supply and distribution options to face scenarios of trade restrictions are some of the challenges that companies face in this new business reality.
In Central America during 2020, companies had to adjust quickly to the demands arising from the health crisis caused by the covid-19 outbreak, as restrictions on consumer mobility and face-to-face sales were continuous.
Given the new business context in which print media have been hit in recent years by changes in habits and audiences are on multiple channels and digital platforms, marketing and advertising teams must reinvent themselves.
The most recent changes in lifestyle habits resulting from the spread of covid-19 have combined with the increased use of digital platforms, a phenomenon that was already evident before the pandemic.
At the end of January 2021, Nicaragua and El Salvador were the only two countries in the region where the number of people visiting establishments identified as supermarkets was similar to the figures reported before the pandemic.
As the months have gone by and in the context of the reactivation of commercial activities, more Central American consumers have visited locations identified as supermarkets and pharmacies.
After consumers in the region increased their interest in pest control in the context of the covid-19 outbreak, in the second half of 2020 and in January 2021 the number of interactions associated with pest control services dropped considerably.
Through a system that monitors in real time changes in consumer interests and preferences in Central American countries, developed by CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project short and long term demand trends for the different products, services, sectors and markets operating in the region.
In order to obtain truthful and accurate information free of any bias, it is preferred to analyze consumers through their online behavior, because when conducting traditional surveys, people tend to lie to give a good impression.
Although the most recommended is to analyze large volumes of data that are generated by consumers when interacting in the digital environment, surveys can work under specific conditions.
During January of this year in the countries of the region, consumers increased their interest in vehicle and home insurance, advertising services, motorcycles, vegetarian food and apartment rentals.
Through a system that monitors in real time changes in consumer interests and preferences in Central American countries, developed by CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project short and long term demand trends for the different products, sectors and markets operating in the region.
Thanks to the digitalization of writing and the rise of Internet searches and interactions, words have become very valuable inputs for statistical models and algorithms that allow inferring and reaching very precise conclusions about consumer behavior, among other uses.
Today, language has become the subject of big data analysis. Since the links used by Google are composed of words and the searches performed on that page are also composed of words, the study of text as data is becoming increasingly important.
In Costa Rica, a good part of the population is significantly indebted, since it is estimated that two out of every five consumers dedicate 38% or more of their monthly income to debt repayment.
The Office of the Financial Consumer (OFC) conducted during November 2020, the first survey of "Indebtedness of Costa Rican households", for which 1,200 people from all over the country, aged between 18 and 65 years old, were interviewed.
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.
Regarding what is expected economically for 2021, in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama and Honduras there is more optimism among consumers, while in Guatemala and Costa Rica the percentage of people who believe that the situation will improve this year is lower.
According to the survey conducted by Kantar to measure the perception of households in Central America, at regional level 12% of consumers consulted believe that the economic situation in their country will improve during 2021, 23% expect it to be the same and 65% predict that it will be worse.
In this context of changing behaviors and new commercial realities, consumers are expected to increase their preference for open spaces, green areas, contactless payment systems, and stores where there are no queues.
The covid-19 outbreak caused far-reaching changes in the way people behave. These changes brought about a new business normal, a reality to which companies have had to adapt rapidly.
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.
Designing or adapting properties to be of mixed use, offering more entertainment options and mixing in an adequate way the type of tenants to whom the premises will be rented, are strategies that could give a new boost to shopping centers.
The pandemic drove consumers away from shopping centers, as government home quarantines in the region, the rise of e-commerce, and bans on people from visiting these facilities significantly affected mall operations.
During the last months of 2020 in the countries of Central America, the volume of searches and conversations on the Internet associated with anti-viruses decreased, a decrease that can be explained by the behavior of all the markets in the region.
Through a system that monitors in real time changes in consumer interests and preferences in Central American countries, developed by CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project short and long term demand trends for the different products, sectors and markets operating in the region.
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.
Recognized Brazilian company of backhoe loaders, telescopic, articulated and other types of cranes looking for companies interested in representing the brand and distributing their machinery in Central America and Mexico. The company manufactures and sells telescopic,...
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