Month: August 2023

1. Brands as Allies in Digital Transformation

Appearances of the shopkeeper as the lead in television commercials are recurrent, especially in those of low-paying references. But fewer brands propose to contribute to this channel’s digital transformation, which has also been impacted by the emergence of hard discounters (a problem with which they are connected with big brands) and by the needs of a shopper who is more concerned about disinfected surfaces and prefers home delivery.

How can brands be allies of this channel to genuinely connect with communities and transcend the TV commercial?

2. New Challenges in Having a Shop

One of the alternatives to unemployment that Colombians have, especially when we come from historical figures in this “anti-indicator,” is the opening of neighborhood shops. (Mini business). However, these seem to be concentrated in middle and low socioeconomic segments, where there are still blocks with houses and an urban neighborhood environment from the 20th century. And this is due to the fact that the fourth era of urbanization of our cities implied the growth of condominiums, where the dynamics of taking advantage of home space for business space have been limited or transformed (e.g., use of front desk areas, home deliveries to buildings, small commercial spaces on new properties).

How do brands adapt to new urban realities, which imply new ways of having a shop?

3. Technology at the Service of Shopkeepers

There are already several efforts in which apps have joined and made shops technologically visible, a trend that was already in place in similar establishments in other countries. However, the relationship with this channel can be strengthened through technology without the existence of other intermediaries. Think about the possibility of placing orders with a button on the cell phone or customizing the trade from photos that the shopkeeper user shares via WhatsApp, saving time and optimizing resources.

How can brands use technology to build valuable relationships for a channel that continues to be important to Colombians?

The buying habits of Colombians have shown in recent years how the search to satisfy needs implies diversifying the spending destination. Regardless of lifestyle (single, married, families with children, or pets), the inevitable rise in the cost of living and the unavoidable challenges people face (demographic accidents such as job loss, illness, etc.) make there being an assortment of channels when it comes to wanting to satisfy vital needs inevitable.

However, with the inevitable break from everyday life as we knew it that the Covid-19 pandemic implied, what has been seen is how this diversity of options is transferred to necessary and inevitable digital shopping habits. But it is not just that there are different digital or e-commerce channels to fulfill some purchasing missions, they are combined with variables such as digital penetration, the level of involvement with devices, and digital media, in addition to the necessary habituation to payment methods other than cash.

Based on the relationships we have with our brands’ shoppers and their various requests during this last year, at Feeling, we detected three realities that marketing teams must take into account, at this time that the world’s changes make it absolutely necessary for people to assume their needs as consumers and buyers in new ways.

1. The Multiple Shopper

Covid and the resulting lockdown diversified the roles of nuclear family members. This is how the housewife, who was usually marked as the home’s primary shopper, begins to share roles with other members of the family nucleus. One of the children can now be essential to help search for some products because of how familiar e-commerce platforms can be for younger generations, or how another family member can begin to be relevant because they have access to a credit card or is more familiar with handling electronic payment means.

What could brands do?

How can they begin to connect nuclear families in their databases? Amazon is currently making households share prime accounts, with features like listings and discounts. How can payment methods with accounts of people other those that make the actual purchases in e-commerce begin to share information? How can retail brands and those in the financial sector establish service portfolios for nuclear families that consider these roles and realities beyond simple characterization?

2. The Digital Bargain Hunter

That habit of taking advantage of discount opportunities to stock up or to buy what you usually don’t, has moved to digital, but taking advantage of a reality that does not exist in the analog world: timelessness. People can save their carts, make wish lists, and wait at any time to be able to satisfy their need or want based on a change in price or an enriched value offer.

What could brands do?

Special discount hours could be added to the unique editions and versions sold in e-commerce. Some segments of the population (single-person households, young couples) overcome their dislike of having to go out to get supplies by buying during extended hours or in more convenient formats. How can the ability to generate tickets at unusual times today be an opportunity to connect with those segments that are not yet used to adulthood and the need to “go grocery shopping”?

3. The Habits That Have Made Digital Uses Accessible To All

Payments through fintech, the massification of sports betting, and the prevalence of Whatsapp as a daily communication tool are three of the many habits that can help consolidate the digital shopper.

What could brands do?

How can small amounts also mean digital transactions? Informality implies the necessary use of cash or sporadic payments. How can those small amounts that people have in their mobile accounts become transactions? How can Whatsapp become the most efficient way to connect one-on-one with customers that had not been previously considered?