Mexican Economy Falls but Opportunities Are Still There

In March 2021, the Mexican economy contracted 2.1 percent against the same month in 2020, according to INEGI, with the services sector registering the greatest impact with a 3.1 percent drop, reported Forbes. Still, opportunities are there to revert this trend.

The IOAE estimated a contraction of 4 percent year-on-year for the overall Mexican economy as its baseline scenario. This represents an improvement, especially compared to the 5.4 percent drop registered in January, according to Expansión.

Alfredo Buzali, CEO de Proscai, mentioned during a webinar that the channel, the product and the customer will be key in improving sales in the retail sector, driving national recovery through the reactivation of the services sector. He mentions that there are great opportunities to take, considering that now customers are more active than ever. “The pandemic forced us to be more competitive in our business. We have the opportunity to guarantee the survival of our companies. It is time to learn and overcome this crisis,” Buzali mentions in a Retailers article.

Buzali also addressed the issue of handling exponential growth in online sales. “Now, among our sales channels, we have virtual and physical store marketplaces, as well as fulfillment and delivery apps. E-commerce continues to evolve, forcing us to adopt an omnichannel strategy through the integration of all channels.” Omnichannel will be the way forward, along with adapting to the changing nature of the market, said Buzali.

Given this boom in electronic commerce, María Ariza, Director of BIVA, mentioned this is a great time to invest in Mexico, “given that you can take advantage of the opportunities offered by USMCA and the boom in e-commerce and in sectors like real estate.” Ariza is not the only one recognizing the great opportunity in terms of investment in Mexico. Carlos Slim, Mexican businessman, engineer and the 20th richest man in the world, recently got together with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and mentioned that he would continue to invest in Mexico to take advantage of the potential that the country has. Slim’s goal is to create more jobs and working toward the well-being of Mexican families, according to Milenio.