As many Peruvians, I know that in the “bodega” I find almost any product that I need in my daily life. In the consumer industrythese neighborhood stores are part of the traditional channel, which also includes kiosks and market stalls. Together, they add up about 400 thousandwhich coexist and survive the growth of the modern channel: super and hypermarkets, and “brand” convenience stores.
We could think of the dynamics of these channels as a kind of David vs. Goliatha battle of a giant that seems to have “all to win”, against someone smaller. Even in this context of high competition, after the pandemic, the traditional channel stands and shows no signs of fatigue.
The little shops continue and will continue to open their doors in the future. This does not go unnoticed by companies in the consumer sector, for which the traditional channel continues to be critical, concentrating up to 70% of sales in some of their main categories, such as food and beverages. However, in the future, the “winning” companies in the traditional channel will be the ones that best apply the technology to monetize and raise the level of service of the winemaker and his clients.
He e-commerce has become everyday and retailers are looking for experiences similar to those of consumers when purchasing products for their stores. In Latin America, 40% prefer to stock up through digital platforms, and 65% choose self-service options to reorder.
The commercial strategy aims at personalization and segmentation, achieving a greater market share in more than 80% of those who implement it. The omnichannel strategy, which integrates the benefits of physical and digital channels, is growing, and has generated an increase in market share three times higher for companies that adopted it.
On the consumer companies side, 85% of the leaders use smartphones as a tool to gather information; more than 90% segment stores with respect to its sales history, profitability and characteristics; about half use image recognition software; and all leaders build consumer profiles with actionable needs and pain points. With these types of advances, consumer companies that supply the traditional channel typically manage to increase sales by up to 10% with a segmentation model that identifies specific consumption occasions for each point of sale and suggests to the seller the optimal portfolio to offer.
For its part, thanks to these technology solutionssellers spend less time on manual activitiescount on updated data, dynamic visit routes, inventories and prices updated at the moment. Furthermore, the delivery men navigate optimal routes and face less bureaucracy, without mismatches between the paperwork and what they carry in the truck. These improvements can bring profits on sale relevant with productivity improvements between 5-10%.
Although this evolution presents challenges, such as the need to train collaborators and clients in the use of new tools, Retail stores They continue to be fundamental in the economy and are being enhanced by technological advances for their modernization and growth. Market leaders who understand this transformation position themselves to gain an advantage, while others must evaluate their readiness to follow this path.
