ACSI BLOG
DIGITALIZATION BY COVID-19 TIMES: ADVANTAGE OR DISADVANTAGE
By: Desyreth Dueñas
Throughout history there is a history of disease that has affected economies and devastated countries, it could be said that many have not managed to overcome today. The COVID-19 arrived in Mexico in 2020, has been a great supporter of the imminent and precipitous digitization for the expansion and capture of markets. From small to large companies, they begin to understand the need to take this leap, before which no company can be on the sidelines. They must seize the opportunity to join the technologies so that they are equally competitive.
COVID-19 has managed to digitize more companies than any technology. Digitization brought with it major transformations and reforms in purchasing models that, although some were in place for a long time, the market was reluctant to use and incorporate them. It could be said that the market had a precipitous incursion that is here to stay and that, four months later, they are still in the process of learning and unfolding in it; In the long term, the perception and use of the senses can affect the purchase decision, since in the purchase process consumers are accustomed to the previous process, which reflects the need to, for example, smell a perfume before buying it or trying on shoes or clothing before purchasing them, direct contact where you can touch, see or smell the product and / or service, can be an essential factor when consuming, seen as a clear disadvantage that even ecommerce has not resolved . Without a doubt, the Coronavirus brought with it very important social and business changes that require both parties to overcome the situation to remain in force.
On the other hand, entrepreneurs and / or businessmen seek alternatives to continue in the eye of the market and showing themselves as an option that can advance together with the new needs of their clients, it is important to innovate in all areas that involve the company to that they stay in a market that made it even more competitive.
Is the home office here to stay?
Among the great challenges of digitization is to shift all employees to the technological side and incorporate in them the responsibility of working from their homes, being effective and reliable to carry out the tasks as if they were in the offices. Many claimed that the home office (work at home) was impossible to implement and today they are forced to adopt it.
Many will not see the offices as they knew them again and will stay in this mode of work in their homes, we will see great changes in productivity which we hope to see from different areas and it should not be doubted that it will have different employment impacts.
According to the Mexican Association for Online Sales (AMVO), 2 out of 10 SMEs that sell online today did so because of the confinement. This tells us that, given the loss of business volumes in traditional channels, companies can implement the use of digital commerce platforms or call centers, we can see in the future the advantage in the use of platforms to reach more customers .
In a study carried out by ACSI Research (2020), the population believes that as the months of April to June passed, job stability increased by 4.3% compared to economic stability, which increased by 4.1%, when the panorama changed and the companies began to provide job security to “indispensable employees”
This will make the market more demanding and no company will be on the sidelines, it is an opportunity to take advantage of to innovate and reinvent ourselves to be more efficient, where the key is the value and innovation that they are going to bring us as buyers, who do not find the key to bequeath the right channel to the target market you will be in big trouble, because digitization is part of the new commercial era.
There is no going back, digitization is overtaking us and the most important thing is to make us your best friend as an entrepreneur and as a consumer. There is no return to “normality”, but rather a step to the new normality that will be in conjunction with the coronavirus, but also with the incorporation of new technologies that have arrived to help mobility, the opening of new and better shopping experiences .
“True progress is that which makes technology available to everyone”
Henry Ford.