News
Latin American Buyers Go Online
Source: altonivel.com.mx
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Internet usage in Latin America is rising steeply and consumer purchasing patterns are being ever more influenced by the web.
In an article on Altonivel.com.mx, Google's general manager for Latin America, Alexandre Hohagen, comments that, "it is true that e-commerce in the region has somewhat lagged behind in comparison with more developed countries but the gap is closing and today there is evidence of a multi-channel purchasing dynamic when acquiring products or services".
The amount of time regional consumers spend connected to the Internet increases every day and will soon surpass television, as it has done in other countries. Purchase decisions will ever more frequently begin at home in front of the computer checking prices and comparing products on the Internet before buying them. This trend is particularly clear for high-cost products such as electronics, white goods and cpmputers.
The Google director concludes that, "in this environment, consumers define the rules. These days traditional companies have a huge range of opportunities but only those who can really listen to what their customers want and present it to them clearly on their virtual shop window will triumph".