Humanity is changing the way it shops, inhabits space and relates to others. Among the most significant changes are the adoption of new technologies, environmental protection and local consumption. What is the latter and where is it going?

“Local pride is on its way to becoming global,” is how EuroMonitor describes its report on trends for the next decade. What does this mean? According to the analytics company, “there is currently a growing expectation regarding an appropriate and creative response from multinationals to local culture, social norms and consumer habits. By producing locally, companies can reduce their delivery times. Creative industries, food and beverage, fashion, music and sport are some of the sectors that benefit from this trend in 2020.”

In addition to the above, during this year, hundreds of people around the world were forced to remain under confinement conditions. This meant that they had to resort to their nearby markets and products, to their immediate offers, which focus exclusively on what they had in their own ecosystem. It was then that they realized the benefits, options and other benefits of what surrounded them. Local products became a 'discovery' that captivated and captivated consumers, to the point of becoming a flag to rescue the economy. 

According to a recent analysis by Canva 8, “food is one of the products that best explains this trend towards local products.” They also claim that it is one of the most important trends of 2020 with “we are what we eat” as its motto.

So, what does this opportunity to shift to local with an emphasis on food translate into? “This represents a key opportunity for manufacturers, retailers and delivery applications such as Rappi or Cornershop to expand their delivery options and capture this huge market. In these times, it will be key to rethink their supply chain strategy to include coverage of traditional stores through segmentation tools to boost efforts in the right stores,” said Oscar Cabrera, Head of Analytics in Latin America, in Nielsen’s latest trend analysis.

“Food is one of the products that best explains this trend towards local”

Just a couple of months ago, this was not the reality. Most of the public was getting their supplies from large markets and international chains. Today, the economic and social reality has forced us to change course and look at the investment in the territory in which we live. An example of this is Ecuador. Currently, 79% of consumers in this country found some barrier to purchasing. online (caused by concerns about quality or delivery errors). Now 50% are more predisposed to make these types of purchases, without neglecting physical supermarkets.

We found that to facilitate this trend, a global situation and technological ease had to coincide. The trend was strengthened in accordance with the improvement of purchasing channels that saw this season as an opportunity to overcome barriers that they had not previously seen as priorities and, based on this, the local market offered through digital channels became not only a desire but a necessity for sellers and buyers.

Fashion, services, food and well-being are some of the markets that have benefited the most from this trend in consumption and are emerging as the big winners in recent times.