Three benefits of digitizing the mom and pop shops

How many “mom and pop shops” are there in Latin America? In our region, the traditional channel represents 50% of total sales, according to Nielsen. During the COVID-19 contingency, many product categories continued to grow in corner stores, more so than convenience stores, since they offer benefits like proximity and in some cases better prices, and the option to buy smaller quantities, which is key for low-income segments. 

Despite its importance in the region, the way these corner stores operate is almost the same than in the last 50 years. In fact, one of the most relevant changes was going from traveling sales to pre-sales, i.e. from buying directly from the supplier’s truck to placing orders. 

If we think about all the salespersons that supply corner grocery stores in a week, we can see this problem has a lot of room for improvement and the best way to achieve this is through digitization, and more specifically c-commerce.

Today we share with you the benefits that conversational commerce offers corner stores and mass consumer goods companies:

1. Clear information for all. By having a fast and efficient communication tool, store owners can place their orders accurately and the goods company, in turn, has specific data on how the market is behaving in detail. 
   

2. Orders only a click away. Forget sending a salesperson to take orders multiple times a week! In Brazil, Femsa encouraged over 300,000 stores to place their orders via WhatsApp, a platform that shopkeepers already use, unlike what happens with other apps and websites.
   

3. More value in human interactions. The salesperson who used to take orders is now an advisor to shopkeepers to guide them, for example, on how to put products on shelves. In other words, repetitive actions are digitized and human supplier time is maximized in high-value tasks. 
   

An additional point worth mentioning is that by digitizing the relationship between small businesses and households, stores become allies of mass consumption companies in selling their products. There is a huge area of opportunity since these businesses today reach 400 million people in Latin America!

If your company sells through corner stores, it is time to analyze the mechanisms to digitize the relationship. Don’t hesitate to look us up if you need advice on how to get the store owner to contact you and place your order with just a WhatsApp message.