One of the recurring problems faced by bricks-and-mortar small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is to sell online. Not all of them can deal with the cost and friction of many e-commerce platforms and payment methods.
This is precisely what has led Conekta, a Mexican payments company, and Tiendanube, an e-commerce storefront and logistics provider based in Buenos Aires, to work together towards a solution.
In a statement, both companies announced an assortment of discounts and promotions new Mexican digital entrepreneurs can use to boost their sales during the upcoming Buen Fin weekend. The Buen Fin is the country’s largest cyber sale.
More and more people are shopping online
The pandemic accelerated many businesses’ digital transformation. To be exact, 48% of SMEs began selling online during the last year, according to the Mexican Association of Online Sales (AMVO).
These SMEs stated that their sales generated by digital channels had a growth of 100%. They also expect 35% of their total sales in 2021 will come from their online stores.
Consumer habits have also rapidly shifted towards online consumption. According to the AMVO, 97% of potential consumers plan to buy online at some point during the upcoming Buen Fin, while 48% said they will spend more on their online purchases.
While e-commerce titans such as Amazon, Mercado Libre, or Linio still have a large market share, 46% of potential customers in Mexico check the websites or apps of specific stores and brands, which is an opportunity for SMEs.
Currently, e-commerce represents more than $300 million Mexican pesos ($15 billion approx.). “Imagine how the sector could grow if every Mexican SME manages to market its products and services online,” said Rubens Pasquale, VP of Growth at Conekta.
This increase is happening because more companies are venturing into e-commerce and offering multiple payment methods –including cash.
Cash will continue its reign during the Buen Fin 2021
Conekta foresees that cash will continue to be relevant during this year’s massive online sale. In last year’s edition of the Buen Fin, 68% of the transactions were paid in cash. (Users browse and choose online, get a QR code, and pay their order at the bank or a convenience store).
As it happens in the rest of Latin America, Mexico continues to lag in banking penetration. Only 47.1% of the population is banked, according to the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV, for its acronym in Spanish).
The situation does not change much in the rest of the region, since only 30% of LatAm’s population has at least one financial service, according to the World Payments Report 2021.
In this sense, players such as Tiendanube, which has helped digitize more than 90,000 businesses in Latin America, and Conekta, a company that specializes in providing multiple payment options (including cash), facilitate the participation of SMEs and consumers in digital channels.
