OXXO Bets on Streaming for Live Performances in Mexico

OXXO kicked off the year by diversifying its business. The convenience store chain now has a new service called OXXO Live, a streaming platform through which people will be able to watch festivals, standup shows and exclusive live concerts. “(This is) an innovative live entertainment platform, where attendees will experience a series of 100 percent digital and interactive content designed to be enjoyed wherever they are. The possibilities are endless as we can have multiple entertainment events, all from one place,” the company notes on its website.

Last Friday, the platform offered its first concert free of charge. The next one will feature the brother and sister duo Jesse & Joy but there is no date yet. The platform, which aims to compete against Ticketmaster Live and Ocesa, clarified that although these concerts will be free and will only ask users to register for access, there will be private concerts that will have a cost.

OXXO is not the first to bet on streaming. Due to the crisis brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a tremendous impact on the entertainment industry, companies like Ocesa and Cinepolis launched their own streaming platforms last year. 

According to the Mexican Association of Professionals from Exhibitions, Fairs and Conventions (AMPROFEC), 60 percent of the events have managed to migrate to streaming. However, attendance is at 30 percent of what it used to be on-site. But the industry will keep growing. By 2025, the number of users is expected to reach 1.418 billion in the video streaming (SVoD) segment, according to Statista.

“COVID-19 completely changed how we are going to experience live events. The chairs will much be much further apart from each other and that will probably lead us to have less audience. This is where virtualization plays an important role,” said AMPROFEC's President Celia Navarrete in a statement.

Diversify or Perish?

OXXO’s regular business was also affected by the pandemic. According to the company's 4Q20 report, user traffic to shops contracted by 22 percent between July and September against the same period in 2019. The company also recorded 2020 as the year with the least number of new shops opened in the country.  OXXO openings in the country reached 75 in 3Q20, compared to 232 the previous year. Meanwhile, 108 shops closed permanently and 82 temporarily.

Beyond the streaming business, the FEMSA-owned retailer also delved into e-commerce in early 2020 with MiOXXO.com. At the moment, the service is available in Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Queretaro and Villahermosa.