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This is the strategy to have an online store in Guatemala
Despite the fact that Guatemala has low internet penetration and the online shopping culture is still in its infancy, one cannot ignore the fact that in the country there are at least two mobile devices per inhabitant, in addition to a high number of hours that Guatemalans invest in their social networks.
For the specialist, it is no longer an option for a company to offer an electronic commerce alternative: if it has a physical point of sale, it is an added value, but the client currently requires more and better shopping experiences, to to close the circle.
The “circle” referred to by Turienzo is called “omnichannel”, that is, being everywhere, offering in all media, and then it will be the consumer who decides to buy or not.
“Guatemala has a much higher penetration of social networks, per person and in hours, than the average in Europe or the United States. That conditions your brand, because it has to have a presence on the networks. What cannot be, nowadays, is a business that has a website that is not mobile-friendly”, recommends the expert.
Where to start?
The three key pieces to selling online are having at least one product, having a means to accept digital payments, and a delivery mechanism for the product or service, as well as It is described by Roxana Kawas, co-founder and general manager of the virtual store Chopinmol.com
The professional suggests carrying out a market validation with potential clients to determine if they want the product, how much they would be willing to pay for it and if they would buy online.
Having confirmation that there is market interest, then they need to ensure how they will charge for online services and how they will deliver the product. Those costs you should consider and add to your pricing scheme.
Steps to create your online store:
Platforms to sell online
Below you will find some examples of platforms that can guide you in your goal of successfully creating your own online store.
Oscar Bonilla, general director of Fiomega, one of the companies that has supported the creation of virtual stores through its storefi.com site for 13 years, explains that there are different ways of selling online, it all depends on the industry and the type of product or service you will sell.
For the professional, selling online is a complete cycle that includes online payment by credit card and delivery of the product or service to the final customer. For example, for the retail industry (Retail) a virtual store is needed functional with shopping trolley and functional online payment system for Guatemala or the country where the business is operating.
“In the next five years, every company should have its products available online and the first to venture into this fascinating world will belong to the group of pioneers who will obtain the best benefits,” says Bonilla.
Another recently launched company as a new e-commerce portal is Mayanful, for its founder Cecilia Gamboa, the problem lies in the fact that the majority of small companies in the country do not have an Internet page or, although they do have her, but not with comprehensive e-commerce platforms.
This limits access to international markets, allowing them to expand territories and without depending on high-cost intermediaries to transport their merchandise to the end customer.
The platform also provides Guatemalan artisans with payment services, logistics, security and other issues that are key to the electronic commerce of their products.
Mayanful has offices and storage warehouses in Miami, Florida, United States, in order to compete with other large and international companies, facilitating the purchase and sale of Guatemalan products efficiently and quickly worldwide.
The most important thing is to be formalized
Another important issue is that the business must be formal and must have all its legal paperwork in order.
In this sense, Daniel Tuc from the company Cargo Services and Import Services recommends receiving accounting advice to avoid falling into tax evasion problems.
“They start selling online and they do not give an invoice, it all depends on how much they will sell per year, if it exceeds Q90,000 they must go to the Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT) to update and change the regime”, says Tuc.
Another of the companies that advise on creating virtual stores in Guatemala is Webifica through its tienda.gt page, which with four years of experience is dedicated to creating cost-efficient products, services and web solutions.José René Barnéond from Webifica agrees with the previous opinions and reiterates that the first step (and perhaps the step in which most ventures fail) is to register as an individual company or at least a small taxpayer in order to operate correctly in the country.
This also allows them to have access to all kinds of services necessary to sell online, such as opening bank accounts, requesting loans from logistics companies and other services.
How much should you invest in a virtual store?
The initial investment varies depending on whether the person decides to do everything themselves or hire third-party services to design and develop the store.
The basic elements that must be taken into account to quote are the following, according to Chopinmol executives:
In the case of contracting advice:
Fiomega professionals classify two types of virtual stores, one for Small and Medium-sized Companies where the investment is not high and where all the necessary functionalities are available, and another for medium and large companies (enterprise) where virtual stores are more sophisticated and must be connected to other internal order and inventory systems.
In Fiomega, the investment to create a virtual store with only US$89 per month -Q657- (annual payment) and the Storeflex product that can be 100% customized and the investment depends on the work to be done.
In infrastructure with solutions such as Tienda.gt, prices start from Q599 per month for an entrepreneur. In the case of Mayanful, it charges a fixed monthly fee of US$200 -Q1 thousand 478- plus a 3.5% commission per transaction plus PayPal fee.
Testimony
Ana Lucía Lobos, I Mommy StoreShe created her own virtual store after the death of her husband, it is one of the most successful e-commerce in Guatemala, it has thousands of followers, mostly Family Moms and their products are one of the most requested online.
What do I need to be able to sell online? The most important thing about selling online is the speed required by the online customer to respond, visually offer an attractive product and add value that not everyone has. How much should be the initial investment? You can start with a small investment and as you analyze the movement of the merchandise you will be able to measure and raise your budget. How to determine what you want to start selling? Look for something that attracts attention that generates profits, but always offering an accessible price. What are the steps to do it? To create your online store you must seek advice from professionals on how to manage it, you can pay for advertising to gain followers, and upload valuable content on the company profile constantly, think about the way you will deliver the product. What would be your recommendations for people thinking about selling online? Have time or someone who can answer messages, find a product that can be won, but also compete With other stores, be punctual when delivering your products.