Will it be like the picture? Will it arrive on time? Will my credit card be charged correctly? These are just some of the doubts that arise before and after clicking on an online purchase. "Unlike offline commerce, where the unknowns are dissipated when purchasing the product, in the electronic only begin there," said Marcelo Montado, president of the Chamber of the Digital Economy of Uruguay (CEDU).
According to the latest Perfil del Internauta Uruguayo of November 2015, from Grupo Radar, 62% of Internet users have ever shopped online on local and international sites and paid bills by e-banking. The growth was constant and, in the last decade, the number of buyers increased almost sevenfold, from 170,000 to 1,200,000. Thus, the e-commerce market reached 900,000 monthly transactions totaling US$72 million, the study revealed.
From start to finish
The challenge of a rewarding experience starts before the purchase. It goes back to the moment when the brand seeks to capture the user's attention. That's why getting into the online world is not an easy task. "In Uruguay it is necessary to professionalize. Sometimes the merchant thinks it is something technological, but it goes beyond: it is strategy and communication; technology supports the first two," warned Montado. "There is no face-to-face ability, where I adapt and offer what the customer wants. The user is alone and you have to avoid processes of doubt with clear information and tools such as guides on how to measure a size," he added.
Mario Colla, CEO of TiendaMia, agrees. "It's not just putting up a website; joining e-commerce involves an investment similar to that of a physical store. And that, if it is a large company, is between US$ 50,000 and US$ 100,000, because it involves connecting with inventory, accounting, means of payment, communication, logistics...", he said.
In SuperComercio, which develops e-commerce platforms, they understand that in Uruguay the biggest work is in the companies themselves. "We must accompany and advise customers to get on e-commerce; for example, if they need photos or update the database. We also have to 'Uruguayanize' the service, understand that Uruguayans do not buy without promotions, without knowing which company they are buying from and add all forms of payment in addition to the traditional ones, among other features," he said. His proposal works in the cloud and is marketed mostly without initial cost, paying a percentage of sales that does not exceed 5%, he said.
This format is replicated by Análoga with its Fenicio platform. "It is in the cloud and charges per sale up to 4.5%, with a minimum that goes from $ 4,900. If it is a custom design, the cost is around US$ 3,000 and up," said Leonardo Alvarez, CEO of Análoga. When talking about deadlines for these developments, both experts agreed that it depends on the case and can take between three weeks and a year.
Analytics
Another player that is paying attention to this business is IBM. Focused on marketing and user experience, the technology firm offers solutions that include analytics and cognitive, such as customer experience analytics, which analyzes quantitatively and qualitatively how users navigate the site, said Diego Castiglioni, IBM cognitive engagement specialist for Uruguay and Argentina. "Heat maps indicate where they get stuck. For example, if there is a bad conversion because the site looks bad on Android".
With IBM marketing cloud, campaigns are generated "almost tailored" according to tastes and consumer behavior in digital channels. The company relies on its artificial intelligence system Watson, which "learns from data". "For example, when choosing an image for a campaign for millennials, based on a series of cognitive rules, we can choose the best one according to what they want," said Castiglioni.
Source: El País
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