under the eCommerce Day Ecuadorwhich will take place between July 5 and 7 in the capital of Quito, scope.com spoke with Leonardo Ottatipresident of the Ecuadorian Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CECE) – one of the associations that, together with the eCommerce Institute, organize the event – on the challenges of digital consumption, the changes in the way the industry has developed since the pandemic and the example countries of the region.
– What are the challenges of eCommerce today?
Ecuador’s digital ecosystem has had a very good timing, maturing, progressing and growing, both at the supply and demand levels, although there is a long way to go if it were bought from neighboring countries. However, in relation to digital adoption, the market has advanced and is progressing quite well. Now, the challenges come from the education side. I think that training and professionalization of the industry is something that still needs to be worked on, not only in Ecuador, but also at a regional and even global level. The demand for people to set up digital operations is much greater than the supply and it has to do with the fact that digital is still an empirical science. Those of us in the industry we have learned through experience and not necessarily in a classroom.
On the other hand, without a doubt, the issue of Logisticsthe payment methods and the transaction costs These are aspects that can always be improved. These are issues that supply and demand are regulating and making them more logical for everyone, where, even in the physical world, it is not fully developed and it is something that will always be omnipresent.
Another of the important challenges that I see, precisely in Ecuador are the rules and regulations. It is extremely important to understand that it is necessary to create an ideal environment at the normative and regulatory level so that better digital businesses can be done. That they do not only have to do with taxes, but also with clear rules both locally and internationallyto know what to do and what not.
– Which are the regional countries that stand out in the development of eCommerce and what should be learned from them? What could be highlighted about the digital advances in Uruguay?
In principle, Brazil, without a doubt, due to its size and digital maturity. On the other hand, Argentina He is seen with very good eyes for everything he has done and because he created digital platforms such as Free Market and Ualá. To these are added Colombia and Chili where the second has a digital maturity totally superior to many countries in the region.
Regarding Uruguaythe country has wonders that it has given to the entire region as the shipping application as Orders Now who have come to provide a solution and a great push to the regional digital market. However, in relation to digital maturity, I believe that it still has a long way to go. I highly respect the process in Uruguay and I believe that it is a country that has many aspects to imitate, but there are also countries that are even more leaders in this sector.
– What changes have you noticed in digital consumption in recent years and how much impact did the pandemic have?
The Covid-19 pandemic impacted and forced a digital adoption, in Ecuador specifically, three months of quarantine were carried out. At that time, the only way to have goods and services at home was through digital platforms. From there, there were several advances in the digital field where the delivery applications– who were highly questioned regionally regarding labor rights – became heroes.
On the other hand, there was an increase in digital demand that compulsorily promoted the offer that had to digitally expose its products. This encouraged banking and alternative payment methods. In this sense, there was a “snowball effect” where digital consumption rose every year. Likewise, last year in Ecuador received 4,000 million dollars in digital purchases, when in 2019 it did not reach 1,500 million dollars.
According to a study, the “Study of Non-Presence Transactions in Ecuador”, prepared by the CECE, in Latin America reside approximately 300 million digital shoppers and growth is expected 20 to 25% by the year 2025.
Source: Ambito
