Traditional retail tries to reinvent itself

Faced with increasing competition and virtual appeal gaining space in the purchase decision of the Brazilian, traditional brands of physical retail Act to gain relevance with new audiences. Large networks such as Marabraz and Marisa are examples of consolidated companies in the physical world that have begun their journey towards new channels of purchase. With 70 years of experience, Marisa recently closed the first phase of its transformation into the omnichannel model with the expansion of the click and remove service to 115 stores in all Brazilian regions. The goal is to facilitate access to the product by joining online and offline. "We started to test the service at 2018 and identified that there were gains for the two channels: online customers went on to attend the physical stores and the outlets that disclosures the site as an option to find products generated less friction," says the Vice president of sales and operations, Marcelo Pimentel, remembering that omnichannel also reduced the rupture and ensured greater availability of products. At Marabraz, the strategy for better insertion in the virtual universe was through the personalization of consumers in e-commerce. For this, the company began to use algorithms that help in the selection of products to be offered to the user, according to his/her purchase profile. Between January and March 2019, the custom showcases accounted for 30% of all sales generated in Marabraz's e-commerce. Of this total, 68% happened from mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, and the increase in the average ticket of orders reached almost 40%. "The results animate and show the strength that the online channel can represent for the operation of the brand," said Marabraz's commercial director, Nader FARESDA. He points out that the company will continue to map the client's behavior to develop the next technological actions. In the enterprise of the digital world, the two retailers used Linx, a technology company focused on commerce. "Innovative technologies can leverage e-commerce results for a business where sales used to happen exclusively in the physical environment," says Linx Impulse CEO Andrei Biscaro.