Tips for shopping online in Ecuador
Ecuador is already a country where you can buy various products with a computer or a smartphone (smartphone). However, as when shopping abroad, some tips must be taken into account to make the shopping experience satisfactory.
The main aspects to take into account would be commercial and security. Therefore, some people in the sector give some advice.
Xavier Álvarez, commercial and Marketing director of ESPAE (the Espol business school), the first thing is to know that in the last 10 years online shopping has grown exponentially and that cell phone penetration is crucial , because one in three people in Ecuador have a smartphone.
Among the advice he gives to buy in the country through the internet is, first, to know where you are going to buy. That is, know about the company.
Meanwhile, if you do it through social networks investigate the account, see followers, comments, to know if the experience of other users has been satisfactory. “For example, if I follow an account that sells cakes I see the number of positive comments according to the number of followers,” says Alvarez.
He adds that he must make sure that he has the necessary securities in the network used. It is preferable to do it from home or connected to a trusted network and give only the necessary data for the purchase. Do not use public networks or commercial premises where you will be temporarily. As well as checking in parallel the debit or payment of purchases on your account or card.
Álvarez believes that you should also take advantage of special dates such as Black Friday – this year falls Friday November 29 – or Cyber Monday because in store prices sometimes they last several days around these special occasions and to decentralize their traditional commercial channels (local ) offer special promotions on these channels that are still new in the local market.
Karina Astudillo, expert in computer security also gives some tips to recognize a secure portal to buy.
“Users must be posted on the site they are buying implement the https protocol, that the certificate is signed by a verification authority … That can be seen in the browser’s little basket. You click on it and you can see the (security) certificate and that guarantees that the data transfer between the server and browser cannot be spied on or intercepted by a third party, ”says Astudillo, who adds that in addition to that You can verify that it is a reliable site by looking in the comments, that you know that other people have bought without problems and that the products have been delivered.
He also comments that it is usually better if the site has secure payment methods such as PayPal or some other online payment system. Also, if possible, see the security certifications that the portal has, which are usually shown to give buyers confidence.
Web purchases in the country already cover almost all areas, but in which you can see more is in the acquisition of services, from a taxi to food.
Another area that is growing is that of construction. In it there are companies like Pintulac that already offer a good part of their products in this way, according to Germánico Padilla, in charge of Ecommerce of the company, who comments that when purchased through this route, the products are sent to the place indicated by who buys.
Padilla comments that the commerce by websites in Ecuador was previously very complex because there was no means to facilitate the purchase or give it more security, but that changed rapidly in recent years and now there are providers that facilitate the ability to provide those services.
“In general, all companies and industries are going to electronic sales channels,” says Padilla, who believes that another way to be sure about purchases, if you still have doubts, is to contact the company to find out if the sites where you are The purchase is from that company.
“As internet penetration increases in the country, electronic commerce becomes stronger, Ecuador is the 5th country in South America with the highest internet penetration (80%), an estimated 13.5 million people are users of Internet. Year by year, two-digit transactions and / or online purchases are growing, ”says Jessica Dávila, manager of Electronic Commerce at De Prati, one of the pioneer companies in electronic commerce in the country and already has a Average monthly visits of more than 500,000.
She indicates that the main thing is to build trust to the client because 47% of people are afraid of being cheated, 52% are distrustful of payments, 59% are afraid of giving personal information and 68% prefer to see what they buy.
“Year by year we see growth in online shopping. However, consumer confidence is mostly in international portals. As a company, we are promoting initiatives to increase confidence in national portals, ”adds Dávila.
https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2019/10/25/nota/7575380/compras-online-web-ecuador