During 2020, the penetration of electronic commerce within businesses was forced for its survival and although its growth was exponential in the most critical stage of the pandemic, after the reopening of physical spaces, e-commerce will not die , but it will be essential to grow companies.
According to figures from the Mexican Online Sales Association (AMVO), e-commerce had a growth of 81% in 2020 compared to last year. This represents a 9% development for retail, which is relevant for analysts at fintech Adyen, as it shows a much deeper adoption of digital channels in the country.
According to Erick McKinney, Adyen’s country manager in Mexico, the digital channel met the needs of Mexican users, especially on high-traffic dates, such as the two editions of the Hot Sale that took place in the midst of the pandemic, elements that also contributed to reach the expectations that were had for 2023 or even 2024, in relation to the adoption of this sales route.
Another relevant point for this channel is that although there has been a decrease in retail sales, it is offset by other verticals that have experienced higher sales volumes compared to the pandemic period, such as travel. “We see a lot of consistency for e-commerce in 2021 even though it has returned to stores,” McKinney explained in a media meeting.
An example of this growth was given by Sergio Borrego, director of supply and innovation at Innovasport, who highlighted that since last year they generated a new base of 20% of sales through electronic commerce, in addition to having a greater penetration in places where there are fewer physical stores.
However, McKinney stressed that in this period of forced development, two faces were shown for businesses, as some of them adapted successfully to the digital conditions of commerce, but on the other hand there were cases that did not capitalize on the experience.
In this sense, he highlighted that in Mexico, out of every 10 online businesses, four have the potential to suffer fraud, which is due to the fact that they enter without any optimal strategy. However, if implemented, it would allow them to achieve acceptance rates of between 85 and 90%, since in the country this figure is 60%.
Some of the strategies to solve this problem, said the Adyen specialist, are based on controlling the value chain without the incorporation of third parties, this with the aim of reducing risks and solving them quickly without depending on other institutions.
He even detailed that anti-fraud actions cannot be delegated to other companies, since it is the brand itself that knows its products, promotions and customers. Therefore, it is the companies who must understand where the legitimate customers are from the analysis of that information.
Likewise, he pointed out that the implementation of digital tools is essential, since the analysis and interpretation of data allow us to be assertive in the identification of fraudsters and not to confuse them with legitimate buyers, this in order to raise the level of trust.
Bruna Maggion, marketing director at Adyen, highlighted that incorporating these tools into ecommerce in Mexico will be of utmost importance for its evolution and acceptance among users, as she pointed out that according to figures from the Dutch fintech, 91% of customers think that retailers must stay in ecommerce after the health emergency.
