Within the framework of the next Hot Sale, which will take place from May 8 to 10, Google shares the trends that reveal the search habits of Argentines and expectations for the next discount season.
In recent times, electronic commerce has found fertile ground in the region and particularly in Argentina, where the last edition of the Hot Sale almost quadrupled the average sales per day. This growth is the result of the new consumption habits of Argentines: 90% of people believe that the way they shop has changed from their pre-pandemic behavior. What has changed? Now they diversify their stores more and look for the best prices before buying (82%), use payment methods that they had not used before (82%), substitute brands they used to buy for price (80%) and do more research before buying ( 78%).
Regarding payment methods, digital wallets (45%) are preferred of Argentines over other more traditional methods, followed by bank transfer (35%), debit card (33%) and prepaid card (23%). Another of the changes in recent years is the age composition and the relevance of the new generations for the sector: today 19% of online shoppers in Argentina are between 18 and 24 years old and it is estimated that by 2030 the majority of households will be headed by Gen Z.
In this sense, Evangelina SuarezCommercial Director of the Retail Industry for Google Argentina, comments: “Today, the planning stage is key when buying: more than 80% discover and research Hot Sale offers online. This is reflected in the searches that people do on Google. For example, we detect that the interest for the Hot Sale starts at least a month before and, particularly in 2022, we registered a peak in the fortnight before the event. This evidences that consumers are more conscious and intentional in their purchases, make fewer impulse purchases, and spend more time researching and making a prior decision. And in this sense, technology and, particularly artificial intelligence, allow brands to build more visual and predictive shopping experiences of interests to meet the needs of consumers”.
planned consumption
Research, planning prior to discount seasons and the search for the best price are behaviors that characterize consumers in Latin America. But, what are Argentine consumers looking for? 60% search for ideas, prices and offers on Google, helping to move from inspiration to consideration.
Price and discounts, Key searches for the purchase process. “In Argentina, consumers are in a more intelligent and rational way. Faced with an uncertain context, they are adopting a more selective attitude when consuming, with a high involvement in the purchase process. In this context, search interest for ‘discounts’ and ‘prices’ registers growth of over 9% and 6%, compared to the previous year. Today consumers make purchases looking for the best value equation, a great example is the Travel segment, where interest in prices increased by more than 50% compared to 2021” said Natalia Schenkelman, Strategy and Insights Lead at Google Argentina.
But not everything is about discovering offers and discounts in the Search Engine. The comparison between products is gaining more and more relevance: the exploration and evaluation process had an increase of +21% in searches. For example, one of the popular queries on Google Argentina is: “Compare home appliance prices Argentina”, which registered an increase of 88%.
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The most wanted during Hot Sale 2022, and what’s coming in 2023!
Some of the most sought after products during last year’s discount season in Argentina were: smartphones, household appliances, sneakers, clothes, cosmetics and tickets. And in line with the trend registered in 2022, according to a survey carried out by Google, this year consumers plan to buy mainly electronics and technology (28%), clothing (25%) and household items (13%) during the Hot Sale.
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An event, an opportunity for companies
“We find ourselves in a context of uncertainty at a global level marked by technological disruptions and changes in the macroeconomics that modify purchasing habits. That is why the connection of brands with consumers at the time of research and planning becomes one of the keys for the next discount season. In this sense, days after the Hot Sale, we found a great opportunity to work on brand recognition, since this event manages to arouse great search interest for brands or retailers that, on average, triples their volume. And at this point, Artificial intelligence plays a fundamental role in helping to understand changes in purchasing behavior and research in real time, and thus optimize advertising efforts.”, comments Evangelina about the Hot Sale that is about to take place.
