The digital evolution, the challenge of integrating online and offline media and the customer journey were the main topics addressed during the sixth edition of e-Commerce Day, an event organized by the Chamber of the Digital Economy of Uruguay (CEDU) and the E-Commerce Institute of Latin America to bring together industry leaders.
After an emotional opening in which the former president of Cuti and vice-president of CEDU, Álvaro Lamé, who passed away at the beginning of 2017, was remembered, the president of CEDU, Marcelo Montado, addressed the situation of the sector.
"Uruguay has changed a lot. More than one million Uruguayans are shopping online. E-commerce has gone from being a strategic value decision to a cash value decision," he said.
Marcos Pueyrredón, president of the E-Commerce Institute, described the event, which was attended by hundreds of entrepreneurs, as "a Latin American dream. What started in one country in 2007, is now positioned in 12 countries in the region. This rapid growth shows the speed and potential we have as an industry.
The estimated growth of the sector in the next three years is 15% for Latin America, while in Uruguay it is expected that 50% of online purchases in 2018 will be made through mobile phones. In the United States, meanwhile, it is expected a decrease in foot traffic in physical stores from 18,000 million in 2013 to 12,000 million in 2019.
For the Country Manager of Mercado Libre, Rafael Hermida, "there is still a lot to grow" in the digital world in Uruguay. He explained that companies must translate their offline marketing knowledge to online, "find the analog solution in the digital," he said.
"The new order alters the old order and between the two end up configuring a third order," explained Damián Lachaga, Marketing Manager at Mosca. "The digital world must have respect for the physical world given its years of performance, but at the same time the latter must understand the obligations that implies renewing itself," added the CEO of SommierCenter, Carmelo Ferrante.
The coordinator of the Financial Inclusion Program of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), Martín Vallcorba, and the manager of the Payments System of the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU), Jorge Xavier, referred to the role of public policies in the framework of these incipient business models.
"Financial inclusion is an example of the contribution of public policies to the development of the digital economy. With or without law, progress is being made towards digitalization," said Vallcorba.
Xavier explained that in this context the BCU's regulatory focus "should be based on the identification and treatment of new products and services rather than on who the participants are". This implies a transformation of the agency, as it must "change the logic, needs and incentives of the different actors".
In a globalized world, where access to information is democratized, brands are facing an increasingly powerful customer, with greater demands, so companies must strive even harder to offer the best experience. "The demand is there, but I have to learn to meet it," said Gonzalo Sobral, Digital Business Development of Pyxis Indatha.
In this context, the great differential of Uruguayan companies, according to the CEO of TocToc Viajes, Andrés Gil Petersen, will be based on the "MISA" equation: Means of payment, language, proximity service and partnerships with the local business ecosystem. "In the end, what saves us is being in Uruguay," he said.
The meeting included a series of workshops on how to create an online sales channel, how to integrate digital marketing in offline companies and how to improve business profitability with multichannel strategies.
During the event, the eCommerce Startup Competition award, now called "Álvaro Lamé", was given to Smartmom, the first online second-hand store that sells clothes, toys and all kinds of items for babies and children. The project, founded by Karina Durán in 2015, will compete to be the best startup in Latin America.
"We are a company with very little time of creation, so there is a lot to do and grow. We have been working completely online for seven months and our goal is to be the reference online second hand shop. I think our venture has a very big potential with high demand. The business model today is very clear and we believe that collaborative and responsible consumption is a future trend", concluded Durán.
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