eCommerce: The New Petroleum of Colombia

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The 19th of June, 2020 was a very special Friday for the Colombian people, it was a Sales Tax-Free National Day, as an effort of the Colombian Government to incentivize the economy reactivation in the country. 19% off in most of the mass consumption products was the main premise for this commercial celebration both in the Brick-and-Mortar & eCommerce world, this second aspect about online sales had an incredible outcome for more than 40+ million people who preferred to make online purchases during this Friday, from the comfort of their home, due to Malls and physical stores insane saturation. Producing huge online traffic of 13,000 visitors per minute in online stores. Based on an official report from FENALCO – National Federation of Merchants (taken from its Spanish initials), Six (6) Million of transactions were accumulated during this Sales Tax-Free National Day. In the case of online transactions, they were increased by more than 700% of growth compared to any other regular Friday, according to the Colombian Chamber of eCommerce.

Only compared to the Petroleum boom in the Colombian economy, the eCommerce now has a big influence in the Republic of Colombia GDP – Gross Domestic Product, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic impact in the consumer habits of this country, the electronic transactions have been growing fast and exponentially. While most of the traditional stores have been gone into bankruptcy, mobile apps and online stores have been on the rise.

Something of the craziness seen on the physical world at the big surfaces was transmitted to the online world, where key digital retail players like ALKOSTO, Exito, Falabella, and KTRONIX were experimenting a collapse in their online infrastructure, they were requesting to their visitors to make online rows with a waiting time of more than an hour. This craziness was only been seen during digital industry activation events, such as Cyber Monday and Black Friday.

This Colombian Government effort to impulse the consumption at a national level, it was very successful. And it shows to the world the big business opportunity to strengthen the eCommerce as a fuel for the economy motor. Just like the Petroleum was a few decades ago. Thanks to the Colombian Chamber of eCommerce, nowadays this can be said with a high emphasis on the integration of all the players in the digital supply chain.

A side note: Amazon the premier Global eCommerce company has established since 2018 a key local Colombian team composed of more than 1K people, mainly located in Bogota, the Capital City of this country. This represents the very strategic move from Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder because the human talent in Colombia is very well prepared to take a lead in the digital economy not only on a national level but also on a global scale.

The story doesn’t end here, the Colombian Government has announced that there will be two (2) more Sales Tax-Free National Days, one upcoming this week on next Friday 3rd of July, 2020, and it will come across combined with the Colombian version of the Cyber Monday celebration, starting on that July 3rd and ending on July 6th, 2020. Some local leaders have implemented local regulation for this commerce celebration, making mandatory in some Colombian towns and cities to purchase online the electronics and computer product categories, rather than in Brick-&-Mortar stores. Let’s see how this eCommerce revolution will shape the rise of an emerging economy towards a top digital leader in the LATAM region.

References:

1.  https://www.valoraanalitik.com/2020/06/19/fenalco-compras-en-d-a-sin-iva-acumular- an-hasta-seis-millones-de-transacciones/
2. https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-53116816
3.  https://www.enter.co/cultura-digital/opinion-y-analisis/dia-sin-iva-el-desastre-de-las-tiendas-en-linea/
4. https://www.enter.co/cultura-digital/negocios/amazon-abre-1-000-vacantes-en-colombia/
5. https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-45887866
6.  https://forbes.co/2020/04/20/negocios/amazon-abre-1-000-vacantes-laborales-en-colombia/
7. https://www.ccce.org.co/noticias/primera-jornada-del-dia-sin-iva-en-el-comercio-electronico/
8. https://www.ccce.org.co/noticias/informe-impacto-dia-sin-iva-comercio-electronico/
9.  https://www.ccce.org.co/noticias/regresa-cyberlunes-el-evento-de-ventas-online-mas-esperado-del-ano/
10. https://www.france24.com/es/20200619-colombia-d%C3%ADa-sin-iva-aglomeraci%C3%B3n-pandemia

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B-Outsourcedf

Daniel Paez, eCommerce Specialist and Affiliate Manager at B-Outsourced Affiliate Network. An active member of the PMA - Publisher Recruitment & Education Council, and the PMA - Industry Advancement Council. Book your eCommerce Consultations here: https://ecommercespecialist.co

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