Knowing with certainty the impact of e-commerce on traditional commerce in Uruguay is not possible at present. Neither the National Chamber of Commerce and Services (CNCS) nor the Chamber of Digital Economy of Uruguay (CEDU) have data that measure the performance of e-commerce at the local level. According to the president of CEDU, Marcelo Montado, his chamber is working to create this type of indicators from 2017.
From the CNCS have no way of quantifying whether or not e-commerce harms traditional trade but say that Uruguayans are increasingly inclined to use this new shopping channel.
Cyber Monday, which took place between June 20 and 22, was an example of the good moment of the online sales channel. In this instance, brands offered significant discounts through their e-commerce channel.
Between November 2015 and the last edition in June 2016, 125% more people logged on to the Cyber Monday website.
The truth is that four out of 10 Uruguayans were in contact with the Ciberlunes, action launched by CEDU, according to data from this chamber. In turn, this instance of virtual discounts doubled its visits compared to its previous edition in November 2015.
The time spent on the Cyber Monday site almost increased sixfold in this edition. Internet users spent an average of 20 minutes on the site.
The union of the two worlds
Mercadolibre is one of the star firms of Cyber Monday, which decided to extend its discounts from three days to a week.
«En esos tres primeros días las ventas se duplicaron con respecto a los días habituales», señaló la country manager de Mercadolibre Uruguay, Karen Bruck.
Mercadolibre sold 35,000 products through its platform during those three days of discounts.
En líneas generales, la firma crece a tasas de 40% por semestre y Bruck estima que las compras en internet seguirán en ascenso. «Tiene diversos valores agregados: se pueden comparar los precios en tiempo real y eso en un contexto de pseudo-crisis es importante, sobre todo en productos de costos elevados», resaltó.
At the same time, Bruck said that the cost reduction of not having to have a store to sell offers great benefits to companies that choose to put their official stores on Mercadolibre.
«Mercadolibre es la plataforma que tiene más tráfico, por lejos, con 500.000 visitas diarias; ahora les estamos demostrando a las marcas que Mercadolibre puede ser su sucursal más importante», concluyó.
From the outside
According to data from the National Customs Directorate, in the first half of 2016, Uruguayans made about 805 online purchases abroad every day.
In relation to this, the head of the International Trade Department of the CNCS, Javier Peña Capobianco, assured that, according to the trend, this figure will continue to grow despite the restrictions of the Uruguayan Post Office (which allows four annual purchases of a maximum amount of US$200 each).
«La diversidad que existe en el mundo, no existe acá», determinó Capobianco. Asimismo, resaltó que inciden los bajos costos en la decisión de compra de los uruguayos.»
Varios sectores están haciendo acciones de lobby para tratar de frenar las compras del exterior», apuntó Peña, quien considera que esta actitud equivale a «tapar el sol con un dedo».
The big difference between the cost of the same product in Uruguay and that which comes from the United States or China - the main markets in which Uruguayans buy - lies in the payment of taxes that today falls only on domestic trade, recalled the executive of the CNCS.
Unfair competition
«El comercio electrónico es el nuevo mundo y estamos de acuerdo en que todas las empresas que lo puedan incorporar, lo hagan», destacó la economista de la Cámara de Comercio, Ana Laura Fernández.
Fernandez said that the chamber is not against e-commerce but is critical about the decree 356/2014 of Customs that allows the entry of goods without payment of taxes.
«Eso es competencia desleal porque aquí si un importador quiere traer ciertos productos tiene que cumplir con determinados requisitos tributarios que definen el precio final del producto», estimó la economista.
More downturn than slowdown
Outside the virtual world, the latest quarterly survey of the National Chamber of Commerce and Services shows a lower level of trade activity whose decline began in 2014 and, according to Fernandez, will continue to accentuate.
«Todos los sectores que encuestamos menos uno han presentado caída en sus ventas. Ya no hablamos de desaceleración, hablamos de caída», aclaró la economista.
Fernandez explained that supermarkets function as a snapshot that shows what happens in the general trade and today recorded a 2% drop in sales in the first quarter of the year in Montevideo.
Source: The Observer
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