Oportunidades y retos del E-Commerce en negocios populares de Guayaquil

Abstract

E-commerce has transformed the way businesses interact with their customers, offering various benefits. The objective of the study was to analyze the opportunities and challenges of e-commerce in popular businesses in Guayaquil. The study was mixed, non-experimental, and descriptive; a survey was applied to 150 business owners and an interview was conducted with 3 experts. The results indicated that 78% use social media to market their products or services. Catalog sales are the most utilized channel (58.7%), as well as marketplaces, which are used daily and weekly (46%). However, most businesses do not use delivery applications (82%) and 13.3% do not offer online payment options. Barriers affecting the adoption of e-commerce include distrust in online payment systems (54%) and resistance to changing the use of digital applications for purchasing (38%). Nevertheless, opportunities highlight that e-commerce will allow for greater business reach (64.7%), increase competitiveness (32%), and reduce operational costs (31.3%). It is concluded that adopting marketing and promotion strategies, diversifying payment methods, implementing a rewards program, among others, can increase business visibility, attract customers, improve user experience, and encourage repeat purchases.