This year it will be remembered by Argentine merchants as one of the toughest in recent history. As a reference, supermarkets and shopping malls stacked 14 months in red and an accumulated collapse of their sales of around 13 percent.While the crisis hits physical stores hard, it also "puts the tail" in a trend that, in fact, really crosses borders: the growing migration of consumers to e-commerce in search of offers and more agile ways to become of products.
The chains of household items were the first to suffer the effects of this double bolt, between recessive picture and advance of ecommerce. The most resonant case is that of Musimundo, with 43 branches closed this year, but it is not the only one: Ribeiro lowered the blind of 11 stores and Frávega had to part with emblematic spaces, such as Cabido and Echeverría, in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Belgrano .
Already entrenched in the electro sector for years, the next objective facing ecommerce is to be a protagonist in the supermarket sector. Some of this was reflected in the last CyberMonday, as the Food and Beverage category grew 165% and was ranked as the largest number of units sold in the discount days.
One of the players who noticed this trend and got down to work is Mercado Libre, which is preparing to launch its own "Free Supermarket". It will be a section dedicated to cupboard products that will have a design, form of use and navigability very different from the rest of the site, as advanced exclusively by iProUP.Garbarino also understood that his survival was at risk and he had to reinvent himself, which is why he is now encouraged to "sell everything", including groceries on the web; and Coto will do the same to market not only essential products but also up to 0Km cars.
In this reconversion - almost urgently - a great number of stores, kiosks and neighborhood self-services can be seen that are afraid of being relegated to face what is coming.
In this context, Coca-Cola launches Wabi, an app for all these businesses to receive proximity orders, sell their products (not just soft drinks), take them home and so they can join the digital revolution.Strategy
Since 75% of its sales are made through the traditional channel - especially in neighborhood businesses - Coca-Cola designed a strategy to support these "stores on the street" and also meet the goal of digitizing their business ."The advantage was the link with the traditional channel, which we have helped to develop and that also helped us," says the company's Vice President of Digital Transformation for South America to iProUP.
According to the manager, the development of Wabi began "as a platform with the concept of Uber: a customer makes an order and the nearest store approaches it".
"We had to think about it from Coca-Cola and also from the perspective of the merchant, because if he is doing well, we are doing well. And we are looking for the social function: to give him access to a segment that was being left out or was not being able to capitalize on technological advances, "remarks the executive.
In this way, the original idea was adding functionalities. "We left thinking about an app of our product to reach an ecosystem: an integral platform that allows the merchant to sell everything and buy better," adds the Coca-Cola manager.
To carry out Wabi, Coca-Cola turned to YopDev, an incubator for digital projects founded by Guido Grinbaum, a member of the "old guard" of Argentine technological entrepreneurship.Grinbaum was one of the creators of DeRemate, and after the sale of the firm to Mercado Libre he dedicated himself to the model of online classifieds in various verticals through the company Dridco, with the development of iconic brands such as ZonaJobs and DeMotores. The company was later sold to Navent.
Through the co-innovation scheme between Coca-Cola and YopDev an ecosystem was developed whose most visible face is the app used by end consumers and that works as follows:
- The warehouse or kiosk publishes its stock of products, of any item and brand
- The user makes the purchase and pays from his cell phone (by credit card online or in cash upon receipt of the order)
- The merchant takes the selected items to the address, at no additional cost and faster than a delivery app
The basic idea on which the system is based is to take advantage of the existence of stock of mass consumption products less than 500 meters from the consumer in large cities and allow businesses to serve the customer every day also online.
For the delivery of the merchandise, which does not take more than 15 minutes, the user opens the door to someone he trusts, his merchant "friend", and not to a stranger, they point out from Coca Cola.
"People every day have less time to buy and wait for the order. They also have little space to store," says the executive, who reveals that the average ticket is $ 750 and is based on the "mini stock" of first-class products need.
The platform started in Buenos Aires and has been adding provinces, such as Córdoba and Salta. But, in addition to that expansion in the interior, Coca-Cola implemented it in several Latin American nations:
- Brazil: in Rio de Janeiro and San Pablo
- Mexico: in Mexico City and Guadalajara
- Colombia: in Bogotá and Medellín
- Dominican Republic: in Santo Domingo
"We are making progress in other countries, such as Uruguay, in Montevideo; Chile, in Santiago; and Peru, in Lima. The reality is that Buenos Aires is the key city and where the idea came from," Coca-Cola's director completes.
According to the executive, "Wabi wants to digitize small and medium-sized cities. There are 3.5 million traditional businesses and our goal is to reach 10% in the next five years."
You are all welcome to join us
The manager says that it is not enough that Coca-Cola is the only company that invests in Wabi, so the soft drink giant opened the ecosystem for the participation of other firms, whether large or small.
"We want all mass consumption companies to associate and have the same benefits and possibilities, to be a truly free market for anyone to participate and find on this platform a true way to compete," says the Coca Cola executive.
On this trail, Wabi has already signed agreements with Arcor (food), Philips Morris (cigarettes), CCU (beers), Procter & Gamble (personal hygiene), SCJohnson (household cleaning), Pernord Ricard (alcoholic beverages) and Bimbo (baked goods). Now he is looking to associate with other mass consumption firms, even if they are competitors.
To promote other firms to participate, Coca-Cola maintains its shareholder position but delegates the operation and "governance" of the app to YopDev. In this way, the "independence" of the platform is guaranteed.
"The application is free for the consumer and for the merchant. Coca-Cola is investing and disposing the capital so that Wabi expands and accelerates its expansion. It is sought to be self-sustaining, not to generate extraordinary profits," Socorro points out.
In this way, the monetization of this app is based on the fact that partner companies pay to offer a percentage discount for consumers, implement marketing or communication actions, improve their position in the results, among other items.
Today, Wabi represents 20% of Coca-Cola's digital sales and grows at a monthly rate of 60% in billing and consumers. "We have more than 7,000 stores and have exceeded 26,000 monthly users," Socorro reveals.How does it work
The ecosystem consists of several applications that seek to cover the entire marketing chain, namely:
- Wabi2You: for the end user, through which they can buy mass consumption products and receive them in less than 15 minutes
- Wabi2b: allows the merchant to acquire merchandise through wholesalers and distributors, without intermediaries, and access benefits and a price comparison
- Wabi2c: aimed at partner firms to manage promotions and discounts and consult metrics of their sales and consumer behavior
- WabiPay: electronic wallet to handle payments and income within the Wabi ecosystem
- WabiMall: a marketplace for mass consumption companies to have their official direct sales store to consumers, with the withdrawal of products from affiliated stores"The warehouseman sees the products, prices, delivery times, etc. Thus, we help to better manage his business. We give visibility to wholesalers and mass consumption firms. And so we significantly reduce friction," Socorro remarks.
The other interesting point is WabiPay, a wallet that allows merchants to pay at wholesalers, reducing the use of cash. The next step will be to offer locals the possibility of accepting QR payments through this application and closing the electronic money circuit.
"Technology is and will be a matter of timing. We fulfill the social role of bringing something distant, such as wallets, virtual payment systems and online orders," says the Coca-Cola executive.
On the other hand, Wabi2c allows mass consumption companies to access metrics on the performance of their products and user habits, respecting "the laws of privacy and competition," said Socorro.
"You can generate algorithms for promotion, buy an analytical service for a more effective product combination, improve