The inflation does not give truce and punishes with all its force to the Argentine middle class, that always manages to find in its survival kit some resource that allows it to arrive at the end of the month.The consumer price index of 2018 closed at 48%, but another data was equally disturbing: core inflation (which relies on products whose prices are not affected by regulations or seasonality), grew 30.6%.
This group includes the items of first necessity -mainly foods- that led the increases with 24% last year. In this context, a large part of society had no choice but to develop its own "Swiss army knife" to survive the crisis, cutting costs and having to resort to two types of businesses:
- The so-called "proximity" - that is, self-service and mini-markets - for day-to-day purchases, especially fresh food
- Wholesalers, to stocked of non-perishable food and hygiene and cleaning products, as a way to anticipate upcoming price increases
The executive affirms that this trend is seen more strongly among Argentines of medium and high socioeconomic levels, who "approach every 26 days on average to these establishments, almost the same frequency with which they go to supermarkets".The purpose is clear: reduce the effects of inflation. According to Rodriguez, they manage to "sustain the purchase of first brands but at lower prices".
The Kantar analyst adds that the "break" took place in 2017, when wholesalers invested heavily in communication. They also "softened" their demands, mainly autonomous and monotributistas, to promote the purchases of the final consumer.
Specifically, not only did they stop requesting a membership, but they also began to accept credit cards and reduced the minimum amount of products needed to access the "wholesale price" in certain items. They even signed alliances with some banks to offer a 15% discount.
And now they will go a step further: they will join as an ally to Mercado Pago so that people can pay with the QR code system. In addition, they have access to discounts and interest-free installments in all areas.
On the other side of the counter, the company of Marcos Galperín will take a strategic step: expand into a shopping channel that is increasingly frequented by Argentines. And, as if this were not enough, it prepares another hard blow for the retail: it will make it easier for wholesalers to sell online through the official stores of its platform.Operative rescue
At the end of April, Mercado Libre had announced a new breakthrough in its strategy, consisting of the incorporation of the QR code into its virtual wallet Mercado Pago. The modality was initially adopted by service stations (Axion was the pioneer) and food chains.As advanced iProUP exclusively, the company gave this year another key step to win market: agreed with Chinese supermarkets the massive implementation of that modality. Basically for two reasons: the number of people who buy in these establishments and, secondly, because this method is very widespread in the Asian country.
He was also in charge of distributing brochures and creating a WeChat channel (the most used online messaging service in Asia) in Chinese language to provide training to those who need it and to spread news about the system.
Industry sources confirmed to iProUP that the manager of this approach between Mercado Pago and the Asian establishments was the Vital chain, which in June became the first wholesaler to adopt the QR codes. In addition, it is the only one among the merchants attached to the virtual wallet.
"It has grown exponentially in unique users, number of transactions and participation," says Gonzalo Pestana, financial director of Vital, whom they identify as the "facilitator" of the relationship between oriental stores and the ecommerce giant.According to the manager, the growth of payments with QR code is already around 30% per month. And he adds that the average ticket for final consumers reaches $ 3,800.
The super Chinese and Vital have not been the only ones to innovate. Mario Rosenblum, commercial manager of Maxiconsumo, a company that also started operating with a QR code a month ago, says: "We implemented it because we saw that the market was going there, we saw the opportunity and we took advantage of it".
To gain an accelerated market, Mercado Pago has launched a profit that reaches all wholesale chains: a 5% discount to customers who make their first purchase with this system in all wholesalers.
Being the "processor" of the collections, offers the possibility of paying in three installments without interest with Visa, Mastercard and Cabal of some banks.
On the other hand, the stores of the sector prepare promotions to continue encouraging the use of QR, although they anticipate that they will be more modest than those of the supermarkets. "Unlike chains, we can not put a price on Sunday and another in the week, so the discount is real and we absorb it," says Pestana.
According to iProUP, the rest of the wholesalers have begun to offer -or plan to do so- payments with QR. Diarco is already testing it in some branches and Makro is adjusting details in their systems."We are going to invest more in the call to the final consumer to use the QR," confirms iProUP Jesús Totesantt, Marketing Manager at Makro.
The executive says that they will also bet on the HORECA segment (hotels, restaurants and cafes), the company's main focus, since "they are also accepting this system".
Other of the wholesalers that started recently with the implementation of QR codes are Yaguar, of national scope; and Niní, with a strong presence in La Plata.Benefits for businesses
As Vital approached Chinese supermarkets, Maxiconsumo promotes that the more than 2,500 supermarkets that operate under its Red Minicosto franchise also accept QR.
"Our vendors offer this means to merchants, so they can use the money available in their Mercado Pago account without having to disburse money or make transfers," Pablo Bertolissio, general manager of Diarco, told iProUP. pilot test of the system only for merchants in the premises of Mercado Central and Pilar.
"The final consumer buys in the oriental self-service with QR and the merchant comes with that balance to pay to our stores, so 'we kill' the cash, which has a cost of transferring funds, reprocessing ours and the banks that charge the deposits in cash ", explains Pestana, of Vital.In addition, he points out that greater agility is achieved in the line of boxes, since "instead of counting 40,000 pesos a click is made and nothing else". To cite an example, the purchases of Chinese businesses are between 50,000 and 100,000 pesos on average.
Given this scenario, the executive says that the goal of his company is that 100% of oriental self-service pay with QR.
In this regard, Paula Arregui, Senior VP of Mercado Pago, highlights that both retailers and wholesalers can invest "the balance of their account in Mercado Fondos, obtaining high interest without immobilizing their money". Currently, the return it offers is close to 40% per year.
On the side of self-service, the executive explains that "by having the money digitally, there are fewer exposures to theft and from the same account can pay providers, closing the circuit of digitization of money without using a bank account."Onmicanality
Like the retail sector, wholesalers face the challenge of omnichannel. In other words, offer a value experience and integrated between physical physical premises and electronic commerce. Some of the main players in the sector relied on official Mercado Libre stores to start exploring the terrain of ecommerce.
"We are leaders in the supermarket category in online sales through Mercado Libre, this channel is growing month by month and we aim to participate as a branch in terms of sales," says Bertolisso, Diarco. The executive notes that his company was placed at the top of sales in the Hot Sale and Cyber Monday editions."The benefit is to buy at a wholesale price via the web and withdraw for free at our points of sale, and we also join all the promotional campaigns carried out by Mercado Libre, granting additional discounts", he adds.
On the other hand, Totesantt, from Makro, assures that his firm started with this modality in December for the commercialization of Christmas kits and other seasonal products. Our store in Mercado Libre is dedicated to the sale of products and electro. We are preparing for omnichannel as a company ", completes the manager.
Likewise, other wholesalers are developing their own alternatives to sell on the Internet but without using the infrastructure of the unicorn. The most advanced in this aspect is Maxicconsumption.
"We have our store in Mercado Libre, but we aim to strengthen our ecommerce platform," says Rosenblum. In the same direction, the manager of Vital advances to iProUP that the firm is working on the development of a "own platform for taking orders and withdrawal in store".
Faced with a scenario of ironing and inflation that continues without giving up, the wholesalers left with everything in search of the final consumer. But Argentines, trained to face times of crisis, quickly adjust their buying preferences based on prices.
"The map of the market has changed a lot and nobody owns a segment, the consumer is 'multishopper', that is, it combines proximity, supermarkets, wholesalers," remarks Rodríguez, from Kantar.
The competition for survival started. On the one hand, the middle class that struggles to obtain first brand products at lower amounts. On the other, businesses, which must design strategies to reduce their costs and streamline sales processes. Let the game begin.