Ever Given was a name that we won’t be able to forget anytime soon. For a few days, international trade was disrupted by a container ship stuck in one of the busiest shipping lanes on the planet. The photograph of a small backhoe dredging the Suez Canal in an attempt to speed up the removal of the large ship will be remembered for generations as it highlighted the vulnerability of freight transport processes.
In an era dominated by the virtual and the non-tangible, we remember that physical space still exerts great influence on markets. However, the influence exerted by the territory will have some changes in the future compared to those observed in the past. Here are some behaviors that location will show as an attribute in the markets and will have an impact on consumers in the short term:
- Greater immediacy. Given that courier and parcel services have developed to the point of allowing products to be shipped from one side of the world to the other in ever shorter times, it will be necessary to continue to improve the package collection and delivery experience. This includes investing in Informatic and Technology, and greater efficiency at the recollection and distribution sites. Likewise, it will be sought that the points of sale are smaller and closer to the houses. Examples of this trend are the closure of shopping centers in the United States and the commitment to smaller and more widely dispersed chain brands such as Walmart Express in Mexico.
- Aversion to large metropolises. In countries where the excessive growth of cities occurred between the 19th and 20th centuries, they are beginning to see a reversal of the urban migratory flow. People whose income is not irretrievably dependent on living in large cities have packed their bags and fled to mediated cities or even small towns with internet access. Although this trend has been driven by the pandemic, it is possible that not all the emigrants will return once the health contingency ends.
- Revaluation of the local. Although in principle for some consumers the impulse to prefer local services and products is a counterculture with respect to globalization, several companies are beginning to understand that it is not profitable to depend completely on international suppliers. More in times when the vulnerability of the main trade routes is in question for various reasons. Therefore, to ensure better costs and reduce the risk of shortages, the presence of goods whose production is in the spatial proximity of the points of sale will increase.
- Goodbye to business tourism? It is possible that companies will think more than once if they return to the face-to-face scheme for holding outreach events and continuing education. In addition, with the end of the restrictions due to the pandemic (and in some countries they have not waited for this moment yet), sites that depend on tourism could focus all or almost all their efforts to attract travelers looking only for fun. This behavior may be accentuated due to the higher profitability of entertainment tourism.
Although these trends will show their own characteristics depending on which region they will not go unnoticed by the majority. The situation of the markets changes every day so investment in research can never be underestimated, especially now that we are witnessing transformations that we believed were impossible or more distant in time. At Acertiva we are attentive to your messages to solve your doubts and be part of your next projects to understand this and more phenomena in the markets.
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