WhatsApp has become, next to telephone, in one of the largest distance sales channels for seafood thanks to the pandemic. This is one of the conclusions of the 21st AECOC Congress of Seafood Products, held in Baiona, with data from fish markets, traditional fishmongers and distributors from all over Spain.
The growth in distance sales of seafood during the pandemic was one of the points of analysis during the meeting. The sector has the peculiarity that, for many businesses, more than the online, the main sales channels during the health crisis have been by telephone.
“There were times when 80% of remote purchases in specialized fishmongers came via WhatsApp,” explained the managing director of Fedepesca, María Luisa Álvarez.
Álvarez highlighted the efforts made by fishmongers during the health crisis to digitize their services, creating their own stores online, offering its products in digital aggregators and betting on alliances with delivery operators such as those promoted by Fedepesca with Glovo O Stuart. Even so, Álvarez claims the return of consumers to physical establishments, due to the greater profitability of the service.
“The basket of seafood is 25% larger when we buy in store than in online, and it is also more profitable, so we must continue working to improve the face-to-face shopping experience ”, explains the managing director of Fedepesca.
The pandemic increased sales online
In the debate on profitability of sales online of seafood products, the project manager of the Lonja de Almería, Elvira Morote, explained that the growth experienced during the pandemic by the institution’s digital project From Boat to Table It has allowed the sales revenue figures to be doubled.
“We have a more profitable service and, right now, the numbers are coming out,” says Morote.
The manager of fresh products at Carrefour Spain, Jorge Alberto Martinez, has coincided with the diagnosis, taking into account the particularities of a mass consumption distributor. “In our case, the orders online fish are mixed with those of other products, so that, as a whole, the service is optimized ”.
In his speech, Martínez has warned that, beyond the convenience and comfort of the online, the first purchase criterion for consumers is quality. “If the customer receives an order and the product is not good, he will not repeat,” he says.
Disinformation in the spotlight
The congress has focused on the effect that the disinformation that exists around the fishing industry on the image and future of the sector. Manufacturers and distributors have recalled that, according to FAO, 65% of world fisheries is biologically sustainable and have valued that they are the first
interested in combating bad practices.
“There is no plan B for sustainability, since without the conservation of the oceans we have no future”, has argued the CEO of Bolton Food, Oscar Vicente.
The spokesman for the leading canned fish company has pointed out that companies in the sector are the first to combat bad practices, such as illegal fishing, “which is devastating at an environmental and social level.” In this sense, it calls for brands to lead the promotion of sustainable seafood.
The purchasing director of La Sirena, Daniel Lorente, has also denounced the effect of misinformation on the seafood sector and has ensured that “there is sustainability and a future in catches from the sea.” Lorente has vindicated its ‘Save the Oceans’ project, which is committed to the elimination of non-recyclable plastics and to initiatives for the protection and conservation of the marine environment. “We must anticipate misinformation,” he claimed.
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