‘Hot Sales’ drive e-commerce confidence and delivers for brands in Latin America

The month of May has seen two significant ‘Hot Sales’, both in Latin America and both e-commerce events designed by trade associations to encourage greater confidence in online purchasing and boost sales.

Argentina’s Hot Sale (14-16 May 2018) has just passed with the Argentine Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CACE) reporting consumers purchased 42,900 items every 60 minutes through a total of more than 1.9 million purchase orders, generating 6,000 million Argentine Pesos (£182m) in sales. The most popular items this year were televisions, in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup, followed by international flights, mobile phones and laptops. On lower cost items, food and drink, footwear and clothing were big sellers.

One of Oban’s LIMEs in Argentina, Alfredo says: “Argentina’s Hot Sale event is widely marketed on social media, on television and in newspapers. Like the (unrelated) Mexican event, the purpose is to improve the profile and quality of e-commerce in the country. Typical offers include cut-price electronics (smartphones, TVs, ACs, PCs, etc.), alcohol and food. Trips to Chile or Uruguay are also popular purchases.”

Mexico’s Hot Sale happens this week (28 May to 1 June). The event was created by the Mexican Association of Online Sales (AMVO) to promote the expansion of e-commerce in Mexico. AMVO expects online transactions to double from last year’s event.

“Mexican companies have only participated in the Hot Sale since 2014, but it is already considered the second most important date for e-commerce in the country, after November’s ‘El Buen Fin’. In 2017, the Hot Sale campaign reached 70% of the Mexican population, and more than 200 companies created exclusive online offers,” says José Luis, LIME, Mexico.

The focus is the hotsale.com.mx website which is the advertising hub for the different brands and outlets offering exclusive discounts. The site builds anticipation for the sale’s launch with a countdown to the event and opportunities to subscribe for updates and ‘shop’ before it all goes live. Brands such as Adidas have dedicated landing pages to inform consumers about their participation and their special offers.

A survey conducted by De las Heras Demotecnia, suggests opinion is divided among Mexicans when it comes to security and buying online. Although 44% of respondents said that buying products or paying for services in this way is safe, almost the same number (42%) announced that it seems unsafe to carry out this type of transaction. However, last year’s Hot Sale resulted in only 66 complaints from 6 million transactions, and subsequent surveys show that those who made an online purchase feel safe with online commerce.

El Economista, reports that a “lack of confidence in the delivery; not having the right payment method and the concern for information theft are the main myths of e-commerce in Mexico that Hot Sale 2018 seeks to overcome, according to Pierre Claude-Blaise, director of AMVO.”