Chile Chile - Rising Demand For Convenience To Be Key Driver For Mass Grocery Retail Investment

摘要

1. We see an increasing demand for and the investment in convenience strategies within the mass grocery retail (MGR) segment in Chile, with players in the sector increasing their convenience store format footprint but also their online grocery retail offerings. 2. The main drivers of demand for greater convenience by Chilean consumers stems from shifts in employment (and so more time pressure within households), expanding disposable income levels that can afford the higher price point associated with convenience and improving internet penetration rates (required to support the infrastructure of e-Commerce and so its development). 3. We believe that Covid-19 will accelerate the development of e-grocery, as a greater number of consumers in Chile will have sort this retail route during the nation Covid-19 related lockdown in March 2020 and we believe that post-lockdown there is strong potential for them to remain online shoppers. 4. In order to develop their e-grocery operations we believe MGR companies in Chile will focus their investment toward the infrastructure associated with this segment, specifically 'dark stores' and initiating link-ups with third-party delivery app companies. We believe the Covid-19 pandemic will accelerate the demand growth for convenience through online grocery shopping (egrocery) in Chile, with the majority of the population experiencing a lockdown since the end of March. During this period essential stores, including food stores such as MGR remained open, but we noted an uptick in demand with Rappi (a regional on-demand delivery service), reporting an increase between 4,000 to 5,000 connected dispatchers per day as consumers sort to limit their exposure to other consumers and so their risk of infection.