The following is a summary of the figures and key concepts contained in the latest report issued by the Argentine Chamber of E-Commerce.
According to said report -prepared by the Argentine Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CACE)- without a doubt that the health event we are experiencing marked a trend in the modalities of the user when acquiring tangible goods and services online. Although e-commerce is here to stay, and with increasing force, it is becoming more pronounced and gaining even more ground.
The covid-19 strengthened electronic commerce last year. All this very particular scenario that we had to go through favorably favored commercial movements through the digital world. Let’s see some considerations and figures.
Ecommerce continued adding new buyers in 2020: 1,284,960. Reaching a total of 20,058,206 online buyers.
Of which, 6 out of 10 purchased a product at least once a month. And half of post-pandemic shoppers are already everyday or regular users.
Various factors made it possible for the purchase to be more traction than in 2019, such as: home delivery, the ease of finding products quickly and security in the operation:
Effort / Energy 75%
Time 54%
Online Security 27%
The barriers to electronic commerce are linked to shipping costs (the main one), added to not being able to see the product before buying. New buyers are those who express more obstacles or disadvantages.
The TOP3 of the most popular categories are: Clothing and sporting goods, non-sports clothing, and food and beverages. Food and beverages scale 7 positions in the pandemic year.
The quarantine eliminated tourism and shows from the ranking of purchased categories, for the first time, giving rise to categories related to food, home conditioning, personal care, courses, careers, seminars, among others.
An interesting fact is that despite the fact that buyers stayed longer at home, the Mobile was consolidated as a search device to the detriment of the desktop PC and laptop.
The same is observed in offline purchases: 95% searched for information online, with a predominance of mobile and with the growing relevance of social networks.
The information sought by online buyers is about: product, prices and promotions.
The main means by which purchases were made was through the sites.
In this context, interest in receiving the product at home was strengthened, mainly among older buyers.
The 2020 turnover reflects the great development of eCommerce during that year, achieving a year-on-year growth of 124%. This also resulted in an 84% increase in purchase orders and a 23% increase in the average ticket. During 2020, billing through marketplaces grew.
251 million products sold were recorded, which implies 72% more than in 2019. The items that drove this growth in units are: Food and Beverages; Home furniture; Cleaning articles; Tools and Construction.
In line with the increase in billing, 9 out of 10 companies consider that e-commerce activity in 2020 was better than the previous year. And there is great optimism for 2021.
The highest billing continues to be focused on AMBA and CENTRO.
The main method of payment continues to be credit cards, especially through a payment platform.
As expected, home delivery takes precedence over point-of-sale pickup, and is positioned as the main logistics option.
90% of companies believe that the level of ecommerce activity in 2020 was better than the previous year. And the numbers back it up:
➤ +1.2 M of new buyers vs. 2019
➤ +124% turnover vs 2019
➤ +72% of products sold vs 2019
➤ +84% of purchase orders generated vs 2019
The pandemic has resulted in a new type of buyer: the POST pandemic buyer.
You are a budding buyer on your ecommerce journey. He approached ecommerce during the pandemic out of necessity or decision.
5 out of 10 already buy online at least once a month. He is of a medium-low/low socioeconomic level. The age group to which it belongs is between 18 to 20 years and over 45 years. They carry out searches and purchases mainly through Mobile.
They are a more immature buyer and, therefore, more demanding: they demand cheaper shipping costs, shorter shipping delays and online advice. 70% of them prefer to receive the product at home.
There is a common denominator between the PRE-pandemic shopper and the POST-pandemic shopper: 99% are satisfied with online purchases.
Ecommerce is a habit that is becoming more and more entrenched… how to prepare for 2021?
Flexibility and adaptation
2021 anticipates that it is necessary to continue re-accommodating to the lives of consumers.
Home delivery has been key to the context of quarantine and new routines at home.
Continue working on delivery times, and principal focusing on flexible options/adapted to the reality of buyers, it will be essential to enhance the ecommerce experience.
Customer centricity
Purchasing decisions occur above all in an On-to-Off environment and vice versa. The challenge will be for buyers to have simple and integrated experiences throughout the purchase process, which means: simple and complete searches; versatile and secure payment methods; and good delivery.
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