Establishing and consolidating a digital sales channel is a plan that many companies started developing years ago; those processes were carried out very quickly in countries and industries with a more developed technological robustness. Then, this transformation came to Latin America, and different businesses joined this trend that today, more than ever, is on the rise.
Johanna López, Ecommerce Coordinator for the Andean region at Electrolux, agrees that this is the ecommerce path and development timeline in the region.
Although the Swedish appliance manufacturer had already been developing this type of channel in several countries, when López came to the company, she pushed opening www.electrolux.com.co at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020.
“It was a preparation job for the whole team and the company itself. Back then, Electrolux was used to shipping large volumes, purchase orders were received by full containers. Then, we decided to do some training, improve logistics and a whole, make changes in different departments like finance and business, among others, to start selling online,” said López.
For Electrolux, the key to a successful transformation lay in finding the perfect support through the VTEX digital commerce platform. Always thinking big, in 2014, the Swedish brand closed a global deal with this ecommerce unicorn because they recognized that it was a solid platform and that it suited their needs at that time.
This has been replicated to meet the needs of each country, and Colombia has not been the exception, according to López; what Electrolux has projected has been effectively achieved with VTEX’s help and support.
“The most important VTEX characteristics are their support, how seriously they take every project that we want to undertake and complete. Also, their willingness from the start of the project to its delivery has always been important for the company. Surely, the growth we have experienced since starting the channel until today would not have been possible without the help of VTEX,” said the Ecommerce Coordinator at Electrolux.
They have made significant progress. The company started with a marketplace consisting of the integration with Mercado Libre, Linio, and other platforms and with the deployment of B2C and B2B services.
By the end of 2019, Electrolux’s digital channel sales accounted for just 2%, so by 2020, they aimed to close the year with a 5%, but the results were better than expected, closing at 10%. Up to date, in 2021, they have continued growing, and www.electrolux.com.co sales have reached 17%.
Now, with what has been achieved with VTEX, they are working to reach 19% by the end of this year as their total share in company sales. By 2022, Electrolux estimates that by further consolidating its ecommerce operation, it can reach sales between 25% and 30%.
The work and the good results achieved by Electrolux have led them to keep seeking innovations and keep wanting to grow the brand and the market share. Of course, the design of the growth objectives counts on the implementation of new services offered by VTEX.
“VTEX anticipates the needs of businesses, and they manage to have an outlined plan, ready for almost immediate execution, successfully providing what we need and also growing quickly. The technological development that they bring to the platform is so important for us; when we identify a need, they already have a solution ready,” López explained.
They recently started implementing the telesales service and will later have their first Live Streaming shopping with the aim of promoting the brand, strengthening their presence in social media, and improving customer top-of-mind awareness. After that, they will start migrating to the VTEX IO technology, Colombia being the pilot channel that the company expects to replicate in other countries.
The CCX Company, in collaboration with VTEX Commerce Cloud, expresses gratitude for having had the opportunity to enhance its understanding of the advantages, trends, and other elements addressed in the current topic. This article was jointly developed and is brought to you by the VTEX Commerce Cloud team.
