Colombia’s top retailers embracing technology at ColombiaModa

Openbravo was thrilled to attend the 28^th edition of ColombiaModa, one of Colombia’s leading fashion forums with over 50,000 visitors.  This year’s event underscored the importance of using technology to diversify the channels and means of marketing, satisfy the needs of consumers, and improve the integration of supply chain systems.

Empower your customer, increase satisfaction

Edson Estrella, LATAM Partner Manager at Openbravo, confirms that retail technology has firmly taken hold in Colombia. “More retailers than ever before are using mobile devices to present collections, access their inventory online, estimate product availability, and manage pick-up orders,” he says.

Retail management software helps retailers handle more products from supplier to store more efficiently, so they can now offer more unique and specialty items for customers. One of the biggest trends at this edition of ColombiaModa was the inclusion of plus-size models. Whether it’s an unusual piece of hardware or a plus-size dress, more brands are including specialty items in their catalogs they can easily be ordered from their distribution center and delivered in a matter of days, thanks to the latest inventory management applications.

Estrella also points out that these capabilities, combined with an integrated e-commerce solution, enable retailers to have a greater impact on a customer during both the pre-sale and post-sale periods. Online inventories allow customers to research what they want before they come into the store, while customer data management applications let retailers make personalized offers to drive sales and increase customer satisfaction.

Go local to gain ground

With increasing political stability and consumer confidence, many international fashion retailers have turned to Colombia to help boost their revenue. As Latin America’s third largest economy, after Mexico and Brazil, Colombia’s total retail sales in 2016 reached $91 billion, with fashion contributing about $9 billion.

The arrival and success of Spanish retail giant Zara nearly ten years ago has inspired many more international brands, from Burberry to Decathlon, to enter Colombia’s still-unsaturated fashion market. International retailers looking to expand into emerging markets like Colombia will need a retail management solution that can easily integrate with local supply chain, handle local financial regulations, and localize their content for Spanish speakers across channels.

Maximize your resources to go global

But Colombia´s fashion industry is not just one-way. Inexmoda estimates the garment and textile industry exports $790 million annually in apparel, footwear and leather goods. Today, Colombian megabrands and designers like Arturo Calle, Silvia Tcherassi, and others  are gaining traction around the world. Only last month, the legendary Parisian concept store Colette hosted a special 12-day event featuring Colombian culture and craftsmanship. Colombian retailers will need a well-organized and omnichannel solution to maintain an increasingly international customer base and maximize their profit margins around the world. Supply chain

Colombia’s economic growth and stabilizing infrastructure have created a population of financially-confident and increasingly tech-savvy consumers, and retailers are fast following suit.

Colombia’s economic growth and stabilizing infrastructure have created a population of financially-confident and increasingly tech-savvy consumers, and retailers are fast following suit. Whether you are trying to expand your retail business at home or in a new market, retail-specific management software like the Openbravo Commerce Suite are making it easier than ever to support larger product ranges, suppliers, and customers concurrently and across channels and across languages.

For an in-depth look at the opportunities for retailers in emerging markets such as Colombia,  replay our webinar How to Grow Successfully in Emerging Retail Markets with Openbravo.