What is Gen Z’s favorite brand when they shop online? Do women and men have different preferences when shopping on digital channels? And the residents of the different regions of Brazil?
Datafolha investigated highlights among seven consumer segments: the 16 to 25 age group, female and male audiences and residents of the Northeast, North/Midwest, South and Southeast.
In these survey categories, the brands that achieve the greatest difference between the indices of the clipping in question and those of general citation win. After that, a statistical test of proportion is applied on the variations to determine the winners.
16 to 25 years
Delivery app brings together attributes valued by generation Z
For the country’s first generation of digital natives with consumer power, the market’s leading foodtech was the highlight of the survey. In the 16-25 age group, six in ten (62%) respondents cited iFood as the best restaurant delivery — a 20 percentage point jump from the brand’s performance across the entire sample.
Today, in the range of 12 to 26 years, those born between 1996 and 2010 form the coveted generation Z. Future largest consumer base in the world, they crawled into a routine that was already digital and are now worth gold for business.
The product offered by the winner, very related to pleasure and often consumed in moments of social interaction, is one of the elements that attract the “gen-Z”, evaluates Marcos Bedendo, brand consultant and branding professor at ESPM.
“As this study is about internet consumption, it excludes other important occasions for young people: bars, clubs, concerts. iFood seems to represent all this for the online world”, he compares.
The company itself associates the result with the profile of the segment that gave it a wide lead — users “connected and open to the adoption of technology on a daily basis”. In January, in another nod to them, it announced sponsorship of Fluxo, an eSports organization with teams that compete in official gaming championships.
Valued by those who are entering the consumer market, socio-environmental responsibility has also become a focus. The internet impacts business with innovation and drives from less harmful means of transport to digital inclusion in the country, says João Clark, marketing director at foodtech.
IFOOD
20 points (difference between clipping and general citation indices)
Foundation
2011
Thirst
Osasco (SP)
users
do not disclose
digital channels
app, website and social networks, including Twitter and Instagram
The first step to support the consumer, in addition to the constant updates of the application with a focus on always bringing a better user experience, is to support the platform entrepreneurs in the process of digital transformation.
female and male
Marketplaces bet on games and team sponsorship
Two marketplaces won the women’s and men’s categories. While women chose Shopee (23%), men preferred the competitor Mercado Livre (38%).
Founded in Singapore, Shopee is one of the stars of the Asian retailer fever that has taken over Brazil. According to the Data.AI platform, it had the most downloaded app in the country in 2021 and was also at the top of the ranking of time spent on the platform.
At the heart of the strategy to retain the public is gamification: digital coins are accumulated when the user buys, evaluates or plays one of the available games. On social media, the brand has 12 million followers.
Fostering an inclusive ecosystem that makes buying and selling accessible to everyone is a cornerstone of Shopee’s business. “The Brazilian e-commerce market is still at an early stage”, says Felipe Piringer, marketing leader in the country. “We want to include more users in the digital environment and increase the penetration of ecommerce in local retail. For this, the internet is essential.”
If 23% of them answered “Shopee” as the best shopping site, six percentage points above the general mentions, Mercado Livre received 38% of the citations among men – in the total sample, it registered eight points less.
Also born digital, but in Argentina, the company points to sponsorship of Flamengo’s men’s and women’s soccer teams as the great recent gimmick in the conversation with the segment.
Regardless of genre or heart club, the marketplace achieved 34 sales per second in Latin America in the first quarter.
A leader in the region, it announced an investment of R$ 17 billion in Brazil in 2022 – an amount 70% higher than last year.
SHOPEE
6 spots
Foundation
Singapore; in Brazil since 2019
users
do not disclose
digital channels
app, website and social networks, including Instagram and TikTok
Our strategies are always based on data and we observe changes in consumer habits to offer an experience focused on what they are looking for.
FREE MARKET
8 spots
Foundation
Buenos Aires; in Brazil since 1999
Thirst
Osasco (SP)
users
80.7 million (only active in the ecosystem)
digital channels
app, website and social networks, including Instagram and Youtube
We are a company that was born online, so we have a constant eye on digital transformation. Our challenge is to continue seeking to deeply understand the needs of users in order to innovate
UNDERSTAND THE RESEARCH
- The survey that gives rise to the materials in this special section was carried out by Datafolha and had two modules, with two different surveys, one on Brazilians’ favorite brands for services involving the internet and another on their online behavior.
- The brand survey reflects 1,500 interviews conducted between March 21 and 28, 2022, with Brazilians aged 16 and over, from all social classes and regions in Brazil, who access the internet every day. The survey’s margin of error is three percentage points, and its reliability is 95% – this means that if 100 surveys like this were done, in 95 the results would be within the margin of error.
- The survey on Brazilian online behavior reflects 2,064 interviews conducted between March 16 and 24 with Brazilians aged 16 and over, from all social classes and regions of the country. The margin of error is two percentage points, considering a confidence level also of 95%
Northeast and South
Operator undergoes network expansion in both regions
Northeast and South, with different profiles, registered the same winners. Magazine Luiza, which has physical stores in all states of both regions, and TIM, which reached 100% 4G coverage in Pernambuco, Alagoas, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Paraná and in Santa Catarina.
Ecommerce already represents 71% of Magalu’s total sales and has grown 149% in the last two years. In the period, it was responsible for R$ 40 billion in transactions and 200 million items sold.
The network has two distribution centers in the Northeast (Paraíba and Bahia) and three in the South (Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul). “Many companies claim that they make fast delivery, but most offer it only to the Rio-São Paulo axis. Magalu makes it to all regions of Brazil”, says Bernardo Leão, marketing director of the retailer.
It was through the internet that the company was able to expand its ecosystem of services, he adds.
Also champion, TIM acquired part of Oi’s assets. In February, Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense) approved the sliced sale of the company’s mobile networks to the trio Claro, TIM and Vivo.
With the move, TIM received the customer base in area codes from Bahia, Piauí and Maranhão and will have 26.5% of the market share in the Northeast. Leader in Paraná and Santa Catarina, the operator already has the largest share of users in the South. Oi’s DDDs in Rio Grande do Sul will expand its share in the region, which should reach 36.8%.
From a segmented point of view, TIM invests in network expansion and regionalized communication, with support for events such as São João in the Northeast. In digital, it wants to diversify its operations: it launched a store in the metaverse and organized its first live commerce shopping — live ecommerce, with promotions and the possibility of immediate purchase.
MAGAZINE LUIZA
11 points in the south and 6 in the Northeast
Foundation
1957
Thirst
Sao Paulo
users
45 million monthly users on the app
digital channels
app, website and social networks, including Twitter and Facebook
Magalu’s strategy is to turn its ecosystem into a business model that welcomes the benefits brought by a true multichannel approach. Everything is the result of a proposal in which digital and physical integrate, complement and enhance each operation, accompanying the entire transformation of the shopping experience.
TIM
15 points in the south and 6 in the Northeast
Foundation
Italy; in Brazil since 1998
Number of customers in Brazil
More than 60 million
users
45 million monthly users on the app
digital channels
app, website and social networks, including Instagram and WhatsApp
TIM has always been at the forefront of innovation and has led several market movements over the last 20 years, seeking to anticipate consumer demands. Today, our focus is on adding value to existing offerings
North/Midwest
Brand focuses on merger after purchase of competitor’s slice
In the North/Midwest, regions unified in this research, another mobile internet operator, Claro, won a percentage of Oi’s lines.
Midwest and North regions represent around 20% of Claro’s total base in Brazil, including more than 1.5 million newly acquired Oi customers in Amazonas and Pará. Network integration has already begun in these areas, where the operator has 5G and 4.5G coverage — the latter has a speed ten times faster than traditional 4G.
CLEAR
7 spots
Foundation
2004
number of customers
do not disclose
digital channels
app, website and social networks, including Facebook and Whatsapp
In recent years, Claro has observed that its digital self-service channels have gained a lot of strength. Our customers want the freedom to choose where and how to interact. We have to be more and more agile to offer them new options and amenities
Southeast
Company wants to go beyond telephony and gather online services
There was a tie in the Southeast between Vivo, present in 99.6% of the local municipalities as a cellular operator, and iFood, whose largest markets are Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
In the mobile connection, Vivo is the leader in the region in covered municipalities and customers, with 38% of the market and 4G/4.5G coverage in 98% of the locations. In the fixed line, it reached 224 cities in the four states with fiber internet.
In the acute phases of the pandemic, when families decided to work far from urban centers, the telephone company took fiber to the north coast of São Paulo, one of the first areas to have 600 mega speed internet.
The plan, however, is to go beyond connectivity and become a digital hub for entertainment, health, education, finance and the smart home. These areas are strategic to expand the offer of services, through partnerships or directly, explains Dante Compagno, B2C business director (direct business to the consumer).
“The whole process tends to be enhanced with the expansion of 5G. Therefore, we continue to bet on the advancement of infrastructure that allows the country’s digitization.”
iFood also aims to increase the variety on offer, from convenience at home to leisure outside.
Two examples are the services launched on the beaches of Rio and at Ibirapuera Park, in São Paulo. In the first ones, customers can order products through the app and find the delivery person at a signposted kiosk. The Ibirapuera events arena has gained a gastronomic village with exclusive restaurants.
IFOOD
7 spots
read more above
ALIVE
8 spots
Foundation
1998, as Telefônica Brasil S/A
Thirst
Sao Paulo
users
100 million customers (considering cellular and broadband bases) Channels digital website, app and social networks, such as Youtube and Instagram
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
