Natalia Muscatelli
08/20/2020 - 8:26
- Clarín.com
- Economy
- Economy
Since the pandemic began, many things have changed in the daily lives of consumers. One of them is the greater propensity to buy products that are friendly to health and the environment. With regard to online sales exclusively , sustainable consumption doubled since the mandatory isolation began due to the pandemic, according to the experience ofFree market.
What are these products? "These are" triple impact "articles (social, environmental and economic), says Max Roller , regional supervisor of Sustainability at Mercado Libre. That is, they have energy efficiency, such as solar panels and water heaters or certified appliances and Led lighting. Also, products that are certified organic or that offer “low-emission” mobility, such as bicycles and electric or hybrid cars .
"In addition, there is another range of goods that promote resource efficiency such as reusable products to reduce waste: diapers, compost bins, recycled and recovered materials," he explains.
According to a study carried out by the platform led by businessman Marcos Galperín, more than 650 thousand users in Argentina bought sustainable products in the last year . This is 26% of the total consumption of these products in the region. Of the total number of users who, in the last year, bought at least one sustainable product, 5% made two purchases and 11% made four or more purchases, according to the survey.
Another data indicates that, among the total of buyers of the platform, 28,000 people, entered the site exclusively to buy -for the first time- a sustainable article.
Sustainable products. Free Market Fountain
One of the ways Mercado Libre has to measure the incidence of sustainability in the business is by quantifying -not only sales- but also the sellers of this type of goods. The results of the study showed, in this sense, that, in the last three years, there was a growth of 547% in the number of sustainable sellers in Argentina, which represents 23% of the total in Latin America. Meanwhile, in the same period, the volume of sustainable products grew 76% in the country, thus concentrating 25% of the total in the region.
The trend became so strong that, in 2019, the shopping site had to redefine the offer, Roller says. That is, assessing whether the products were sustainable or not. "Some were terminated and replaced by more" efficient "ones, for example, in the case of household appliances," he says.
The idea of promoting this segment of consumption was born five years ago in the company with the "Ecofriday": a kind of HotSale exclusively for sustainable products . The next one will begin this Friday , August 21 and will run until the 28, simultaneously in the markets of Argentina, Mexico and Peru and will include discounts of 20 to 30%.
"Since the pandemic began, sales of sustainable products have doubled," says the Mercado Libre manager. While, the average total sales of the platform grew 80%, sustainable products grew 20% above that level. " We saw how habits were being replaced, thanks to the greater ecological awareness and to the greater time available to people as well," he said.
Sustainable consumption growth. Free Market Fountain
The results show that reusable diapers grew 2145% in that period; the reusable bottles (to avoid plastic consumption) up 916%; the menstrual cups, 347%; the toothbrushes bamboo, 297% and shampoo conditioners solid 243% more sold.
Sales of flowerpots and flowerpots also grew (557%); Compost bins (244%) and “remanufactured” electronic items, that is, restored to new. Newsan is one of the manufacturers that has products of this type available on the ML site, as well as on its own "marketplace". In this case, the company implemented a special triple impact program in an agreement with the Tzedaká Foundation whereby the company donates to the Foundation appliances that require repairs, carried out by trained people through an after-sales service.
Among the remanufactured products offered at Mercado Libre, cell phones take the lead, according to Roller. Although consoles and notebooks also stand out.