What are "dark stores" and why do they proliferate in the world?

One of the latest Walmart ads in the area is that it will open this type of store in Chile.

There are two types of dark stores: stores designed for the consumer to withdraw online purchases and stores that function as distribution warehouses for electronic sales.

Whether it's storage or collection points, both are located in the last link in the supply chain.

"The idea of ​​dark stores is to bring goods closer to the consumer because we live with one click," said Antonio Iglesias López, Senior Professor and Coordinator of the School of Marketing's Master in Supply Chain Management and Logistics. and Business (ESIC), a university based in Madrid.

"People buy online and want to have the products in a few hours."

"This is a trend that has begun to spread around the world and has developed in countries where e-commerce is the most developed," he added, particularly in the United States. United, in Europe and in the most developed Asian markets.

What do consumers who buy their products in a dark shop earn?

Fast delivery and key element: avoid payment of shipping costs. However, not everyone feels comfortable ordering, for example, buying the supermarket from a cell phone.

"It's a very clear trend"

However, younger people prefer e-commerce.

"It's a very clear trend, people want fast delivery because speed is more and more important," says Xavier Budet, professor of economics and commerce at the Open University of Catalonia. (UOC), in dialogue with BBC Mundo.

He explains that there are big supermarkets that "select the stores that sell the least, close them and turn them into dark stores".

But one of the biggest challenges in opening dark stores in large urban centers is the value and availability of land.

Basically, an exorbitant income can wipe out profits.

And in that industry experts agree to badyze trends in the future.

"We will see the opening of more dark stores around the world, which will be located on the outskirts of densely populated cities," Simon Mayhew, head of the online trading company IGD, told BBC Mundo. British who studies the food industry. .

Hybrid stores

However, this does not mean that dark stores will replace physical stores, especially in the case of supermarkets.

"There will probably be more hybrid stores," says Mayhew, referring to physical stores with space at the back for online shopping.

In Brazil, for example, the company Carrefour "transforms some of its stores to incorporate dark stores," he adds.

And in the case of cities facing serious traffic problems, smaller storage centers, with a more limited stock of products, are likely to proliferate.

Vehicular Chaos

The increase in e-commerce has not occurred without negative effects in large urban centers.

Cities like New York have to deal with the daily chaos of vehicles caused by online sales.

With so many product deliveries in homes, offices and businesses, there is not enough space on the streets for delivery people.

"Often we have no other choice, there is no place to park, you have to park on the second line," BBC told the BBC. Thomas Chu, driver at the UPS Transportation and Logistics Company in New York.

Global expansion

E-commerce sales around the world will grow frantically in the coming years.

In 2018, they reached 2.8 billion US dollars and should reach 4.9 billion US dollars in 2021, according to Statista.

In Latin America, forecasts indicate that online sales will reach US $ 118 billion by 2021, according to WorldPay calculations.

The region is still considered an "immature" market in the e-commerce sector and, for the same reason, with great scope for expansion, particularly in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Panama.

That's why giants like Walmart are banking on creating dark stores in the area.

In the end, the race for e-commerce will be won by those who offer better prices and faster deliveries, experts say.

And this speed of distribution will probably be achieved by those who make the best commercial bets with the opening of new dark stores.

BBC