2020 has marked an unprecedented growth of electronic commerce in Ecuador and the region. This rise, both in visits to web pages and in sales, is linked to the emergency generated by the COVID-19 pandemic .
Ecuador would close the year with $ 2.3 billion in online sales, 15% more than projected
According to Leonardo Ottati, general director of the Ecuadorian Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CECE) , the pandemic forced the demand to migrate to the digital channel; and also to the offer to professionalize them and add added value to attract new online customers .
Regarding this growth, Juan Carlos Loza, country manager of Tiendamia , a digital store present for six years in Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Uruguay, and since last July in Ecuador, assured that it is around 800% at the regional level, According to a study by the firm, they offer more than a billion products from the Amazon, Ebay and Walmart catalogs .
Regarding Ecuador, Loza cites figures from the CECE and the Electronic Commerce Observatory of the Espiritu Santo University of Specialties (UEES), which indicate that e-commerce in the country grew 300% this year compared to 2019.
According to the representative of Tiendamia, this was one of the reasons for the firm to reach the national market.
“Ecuador currently has enormous potential despite the obstacles of crossborder (cross-border electronic commerce, subject to 4 × 4 and other tariff regimes), we believe in the country and that is why we decided to enter to fill an unsupplied demand and do everything for it. client on a single platform and also promote e-commerce with our regional know-how (practical knowledge and ability) , “said Loza, who projects that Ecuador will continue to improve in this segment.
Ottati, for his part, pointed out that in 2019 around $ 1,600 million were moved in Ecuador and for this year about $ 2,000 million was projected , although with what happened due to the pandemic, the head of the CECE believes that the figure should not be less than $ 2.3 billion , even taking into account that there were several categories that were affected and that were important for digital infrastructure such as entertainment and tourism, segments that have had less demand this year, contrary to household appliances, technology, fashion And beauty.
“We estimate that between 20% and 25% of this figure – $ 1,600 million in 2019 – must have been moved between November and December, considering that last year all categories were 100% active. This year new categories have started to move much more. We estimate that there will be many services that previously did not exist online, “added the head of the CECE.
Regarding the visits to the websites, Ottati is based on the two editions of Cyberday.ec that more than doubled the traffic, going from 301,000 visits in May and December 2019 to 721,000 in May and August of this year, which is still expected a third edition of the event that will take place between November 30 and December 1, where five times more traffic and three times as many buyers are expected than the November 2019 edition.
So far there are 45 confirmed businesses between companies and businesses for this digital event; some of them will participate for the first time, such as Tiendamia and National Lottery.
Andrea Ramón, brand director of Lotería Nacional , said that they seek to open up to the cyber community and give them the opportunity to acquire one of the most emblematic and long-awaited products, the extraordinary Christmas draw.
“This time the National Lottery offers $ 2 million to the whole, whose regular value is $ 80, but only for Cyberday.ec we are going to have a unique discount and it will be $ 74.99,” revealed the directive, who added that the half whole will also enter the offer and will drop from $ 40 to $ 37.50. (I)
