Retail companies are under the scrutiny of the Federal Commission for Economic Competition (Cofece). The regulator has launched an investigation into the e-commerce market to determine if there are any barriers to competition.
In the investigation, which is identified with the file number IEBC-001-2022, the Commission warns that there are elements that suggest that there are no conditions of effective competition in the retail electronic commerce market in national territory, without revealing the name of the chain that, presumably, commits this illicit.
“This procedure should not be understood as a prejudgment of the conditions of effective competition in the investigated market, nor of the existence of barriers to competition and free concurrence and/or essential supplies, nor of the corrective measures that, if applicable, could come to prevail,” Cofece said.
But if there are sufficient elements to support the possible existence of restrictions to the efficient functioning of the investigated market, the company could be awarded a fine for alleged monopolistic practices.
Walmart, Soriana, La Comer and Chedraui stepped up the accelerator to develop e-commerce in the country with the pandemic and respond to the demand for purchases from people, who preferred digital channels to avoid crowds in checkout lines or at the counter. sales floor.
Walmart, the largest of the retailers, kicked off its digital strategy in 2018, when it rolled out its omnichannel strategy. The company also launched Walmart Pass, a monthly or yearly subscription service for home deliveries. Likewise, during the last quarter of 2021, it finished implementing its new e-commerce platform in all the countries of the Central American region, and in 2021 e-commerce sales represented 1.7% of the total.
Soriana has also made efforts in the digital field. In April of last year, the company launched its store in the MercadoLibre marketplace , and during the last quarter of last year it relaunched its mobile application to facilitate the shopping experience for users. On the other hand, the processes with the digital platforms with which it has an alliance were strengthened, which translated into a triple-digit increase in sales in this channel.
With the pandemic, Chedraui also identified opportunities for digital channels. The company implemented improvements to the service and its online stores. In its latest financial statement, the company did not detail the growth of digital sales or its share of total sales, but in 2020 they grew almost 200% and omnichannels represented 3.6% of the total in Mexico.
The digital platform ‘La Comer en tu casa’, from La Comer, continues to be an axis for the company; however, its performance was slightly more moderate than it had during the previous quarter. In the report, the company does not detail the results of this electronic commerce bet, which has its bulk in Mexico City and the metropolitan area.
Liverpool is another of the retailers that has put the most accelerator in terms of electronic commerce. The company enabled the online offer of products with Click & Collect delivery in two hours after purchase and home delivery in 24 hours, which is an express format for Liverpool stores that have the product available. In addition, with the geolocation project, same-day and next-day deliveries grew 85% against 2020.
Regarding the omnichannel business, the company detailed that during 2021 the group’s stores obtained a digital participation of 22.6%, 2.4 times above that of 2019, while the marketplace reflected an increase of seven times compared to 2019. Suburbia increased its sales online 3.6 times as well vs. 2019.
