The Buen Fin: numbers and experiences

Many products and services are promoted during the Buen Fin in order to promote commerce in Mexico. That is the reason why it is important to know the benefits, data and recommendations, both for customers and companies of all sizes that wish to participate in this commercial event.

The Buen Fin event has been held since 2011. It consists of several days in which several companies offer their products and services with special offers, discounts or price reductions, attracting thousands of consumers and boosting commercial activity in the country.

The eleventh edition will be held this year from November 10 to 16, 2021 and its goal is to strengthen commercial inclusion with the addition of new lines of business and more establishments. It is expected to achieve an economic revenue of 239 billion pesos, similar to that obtained in 2020, and contribute to the country's economic recovery.

In this article you will see numerical data that will help you understand why this event has become popular in Mexican society, in addition we will give you some tips that you can use when shopping (for consumers), and for offering your products (for businesses).

With this information you will be able to prepare yourself and make the best purchasing decisions during the Buen Fin. In addition, entrepreneurs who wish to participate in these shopping days will know how they can give the best shopping experience to their customers.

All this so that you can have the greatest benefit when acquiring a product or service or offer it to your customers. Savings, intelligence, planning, and taking advantage will be the key words during the whole buying/selling process, before, during and after the Buen Fin.

Background

Many years ago in the United States of America (specifically in 1961), we have seen how in the early hours of the morning after Thanksgiving, people crowd the various stores in the city, hoping to find the item they want at the best price.

We always see impressive images that are not seen every day, kilometer-long lines of people outside the stores, stampede of customers entering the stores, men and women fighting each other, broken windows, basically, a night of chaos, but with good offers.

In essence, Black Friday is the day that kicks off the holiday shopping season and is distinguished by the incredible deals offered, which are not seen at any other time of the year.

There is a reason why it is one of the most anticipated days for consumers living in the United States of America. In Mexico, the Buen Fin is inspired by Black Friday.

In the commercial sector, this initiative arose as an initiative of the Business Coordinating Council with the approval of the federal government, the banking sector and the various organizations representing the private sector, due to the crisis caused by the AH1N1 flu and now by the Covid-19 pandemic.

What is the objective of the Buen Fin?

This is achieved by promoting products and services through discounts, offers, price savings and the option of making purchases on credit with interest-free months.

But with a basic principle: that the client and the vendors benefit from it.

On the one hand, consumers can take advantage of prices that are not usually seen throughout the year, so people do not usually think about it, immediately proceed and make the purchase.

That is why shopping malls are full of people these days, many of them with their TV screens, bags of clothes, cell phones, blenders or shoes, basically, everything you can imagine has an outlet during this weekend.

Since 2020, due to the health emergency, all these people have also become present in the digital channels, which have been very relevant during this campaign of sales and offers.  

On the other hand, there are the companies or small businesses dedicated to offering their products and services, for which these four days represent a large part of their sales throughout the year.

So this event represents a great opportunity for those entrepreneurs who are just starting out in the business world to make themselves known and gain as many users as possible.

And for those who find it strange that companies tend to have more profits in this Buen Fin than at other times of the year, such as Christmas, it is because a large part of consumers take advantage of the proximity of this commercial event to the holidays in December, to buy gifts for their family and friends.

Thus, the Buen Fin has become a success in the commercial area, where Mexicans who enjoy shopping, as well as those who do it as a need, wait for a whole year to take advantage of these days of savings and promotions.

Many of them save part of their income throughout the year so as not to be limited and to be able to purchase everything they have desired.

Popularity of the Buen Fin: growth and acceptance

If there is something we must be clear about the behavior and tastes of Mexican consumers, it is that they love discounts, not only in these days of the Buen Fin, but throughout the year.

A constant expectation among Mexicans is to be able to take advantage of some kind of offer, discount or interest-free month's payment. Whatever represents a considerable savings when it comes to acquiring a product or service.

Especially for those people who are technology lovers, since year after year new models of electronic items, computer equipment, cell phones, etc. are launched on the market.

Do you have any doubts about the preference that Mexicans have in acquiring this type of high-tech products?

Observe these data offered by Inegi and IFT through the National Survey on Availability and Use of Information Technologies in Households (ENDUTIH) 2020:

• 88.2 million cell phone users 
• 44.4 million computer users
• 36.0 million homes have at least one television at home

These numbers are impressive and prove that a large part of the people in this country consider indispensable the use and acquisition of these devices. This became even more important with work and school at home.

For this reason and others, the Buen Fin has a great fame and acceptance among most consumers in the country.

During the first edition of the Buen Fin, revenues (for companies) reached 39,800 million pesos, with the participation of 40,000 stores.

During the last Buen Fin (2020) 238 billion pesos in total sales, which represented an increase of 107% versus 2019, according to data from the Online Sales Association (AMVO).

Therefore, it is necessary to recognize and confirm that the idea of dedicating a season to promote products and services in order to reactivate the economy after the pandemic shutdown has had favorable results.

Objectives have been achieved and each edition of the Buen Fin hopes to improve on the previous year's numbers. To date, there has not been a factor that makes us think otherwise.

How the Buen Fin can help you

As well as various promotions are offered to consumers in order to obtain products and services at a lower price, companies are also benefited by the commercial activity carried out during these four days.

The Buen Fin gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to achieve one of the main objectives of any commercial activity, to increase their sales and therefore generate substantial profits in money.

At the same time, there is the possibility that through a good marketing campaign and thanks to the provision of a good service, these companies that participate in the Buen Fin will add new customers and thus achieve another fundamental objective in the area of business.

The most purchased categories during the Buen Fin 2020 were concentrated in Fashion (45%), Electronics (34%), Appliances (27%), Beauty and personal care (25%) and Toys (24%).

If you are an entrepreneur belonging to the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector, you should know that it is not a disadvantage to participate in the Buen Fin alongside large national and international companies.

On the contrary, you have the opportunity to make yourself known, since your brand can benefit from appearing on the Internet platforms dedicated to this commercial event and at no cost.

Obviously selling is the most important thing, but for a start-up or growing business, it may be more important to showcase yourself and attract potential customers. Think about it!

For all companies, but especially for SMEs, the Buen Fin represents a good opportunity to generate new revenues and reduce low circulation inventories.

The important thing is motivation, that the positive results of these promotion days allow you to grow in some way and that you can set yourself new challenges and objectives.

What do you have to do to be part of the companies participating in the Buen Fin?

• - You must have a valid Taxpayer Identification Number (RFC)
• - Have the tax mailbox active
• - You must have a Positive Opinion of Compliance

The latter can be managed through the official website of the Tax Administration Service www.sat.gob.mx.

Once you have these requirements, you can enter the website of the Buen Fin www.elbuenfin.org, where you can register your company or update your data. Also, on the website you can consult the conditions and terms, as well as any questions you may have.

If you have decided to take part in the Buen Fin, we recommend that you objectively analyze your sales capacity and make sure that your inventory is sufficient; remember that there are great possibilities to increase your sales.

At the same time, implement a good marketing strategy that can benefit you, don't just depend on the free publicity that the Buen Fin website will offer you, do a good job on your own, the results can be incredible.

Tips to make the most of it

One of the most important things to keep in mind when planning sales strategies is that of knowing, understanding and adapting to our planning, the different behaviors or habits that consumers have before, during and after the process of buying/selling products and services.

Remember that customers are human beings, this brings a series of behaviors that may be normal or completely out of all logic to our understanding.

Reasonable, indecisive, reserved, talkative, impatient, rude, dominant, etc., basically, you will find a series of attitudes that I recommend you manage and that you can use to your advantage to get as many clients as possible.

As there may be compulsive customers who do not measure the consequences of their actions, there are also people who set limits and at the time of entering their car to go to the shopping mall, they are thinking about what to buy, if it will bring any benefit or, on the contrary, if it is better not to spend their money that day.

Put yourself in their shoes, think like those who make smart purchases.

A smart purchase is one that is made when there is a balance between the quality of the product and its price, and also when this purchase represents a benefit in the short, medium and long term.

They will probably not refuse to make the purchase, they will simply have a buying attitude that will allow them to get the best product or service, in terms of quality and price.

What should we keep in mind to make a good sales planning, based on our customers' behavior?

Here are 4 tips that can help you understand how consumers behave:

1. Clients have the habit of comparing before buying

Remember that in the 21st century, supply levels are high, which means that there are a large number of stores that can offer you the same thing at different prices and better quality.

Consumers will visit shopping malls or marketplaces and will find a TV screen that will catch their attention and that will suit their preferences and requirements; but not all of them will buy at the first opportunity, many will go on their way and will go to other establishments where they can get that kind of products to compare prices.

How many times has it happened to us as customers that we buy something and the next day we see an advertisement promoting the same product we purchased, but at a lower price. A prudent consumer carries out a detailed comparison process.

Therefore, the customer will try to visit 3 or 4 other stores to see if there are better prices or promotions that they can take advantage of.

To the extent that consumers get better prices, they will be able to make some savings.

2. Before making a final purchase, consumers do research on the Internet.

When it comes to comparing and researching, the Internet is widely used. These days, shopping can be done from home, in a more comfortable way and above all with calm and serenity.

Thanks to this type of benefits provided by technology, people prefer, as part of the purchasing process, to research prices through the websites of the companies that sell the product or service they wish to purchase.

They can also make this type of inquiries when they want to find out more about the characteristics of the product, taking into account that not all of them are the same.

If customers wish to purchase a specific backpack, they will probably do the research from home and thanks to the internet, they will look at what kind of material it is made of, the weight capacity, the number of compartments, whether there is space for their laptop or whether it is waterproof.

This way they will no longer spend a whole day looking for a backpack, at home, in a matter of minutes they will be able to find out which model suits them, what price they think is fair and where they will go to buy it.

Even the "how" buyers purchase your products or services has changed over the years. We recommend you to adapt your sales methods to the new times.

3. A large part of the clients buy what they need

This is perhaps one of the most difficult tips to control, because "each person is different".

Consumers go shopping and see incredible products, with spectacular designs and that "shine" on the shelves, objects that have that quality of being able to attract attention at a glance.

And that's where the customer's heart says, "I want it," but their brain says; "Do I need it?

Therein lies the dilemma, because they may come to the conclusion that they don't need it, but they may think that in the future it will serve them well, or they may decide that it is simply something they want.

This is where the decision begins and the "budget" factor comes in, so they consider the benefits of buying a product or service that they don't need, but they want.

Many people have that responsible behavior in terms of acquiring something they did not plan to buy, being conscious and thoughtful about the money they have and the use of something they don't know if they should take home. Most of them, however, tend to "give up" and use their debit and credit cards to buy something that they do not need.

It's hard to measure, but you're going to find all kinds of people in this sense.

4.They wait for the right time to make their purchases

This has a lot to do with the fact that customers have the habit of looking for the best prices in the market, either through an offer, discount or any type of promotion that allows them to buy a product or service at the best possible cost.

At the commercial level, there are different stages throughout the year.

In January, for example, there are usually special offers, since most of the year's purchases take place in November and December due to the Christmas festivities; hence, it is a way of activating sales in the first month of the year.

Good prices can also be seen when a commercial establishment decides to liquidate or renew its inventory, closes its stores, a change of season (design line), etc. The important thing for these companies is to obtain some kind of profit before a particular event in this type of commercial area.

The Buen Fin is another good time to shop, as this event has become a tradition and many people wait until November to buy their next cell phone, laptop or freezer.

It is important for you to know that people are waiting for the right opportunity to invest their money in something they want or need to acquire.

One of the common behaviors among consumers is based on waiting for some kind of promotion, they may walk in front of the store for a month and if they do not see offers, sales or discounts, they will not make the purchase.

It is there where patience is observed as a virtue of some consumers, who can wait for months, in order to take advantage of a good price that brings with it more benefits, especially in the personal economic aspect.

Online shopping boom

Among the objectives that every company places as a priority to add more customers and therefore obtain more profits, is to provide better shopping experiences to its consumers, which will be achieved with a better quality of service and by providing people with different sales options.

We know today that technology is a fundamental part of our habits. In the past, for example, it was necessary to travel all over the city to find the ideal dining table for the living room. It took entire days, hours of moving from one place to another to get a variety of models and prices.

After the pandemic, online shopping has gained momentum and has positioned itself as one of the consumer habits despite the decrease in sanitary restrictions. In the last edition, online sales had an important percentage compared to past editions.

In the 2020 edition, online sales generated 36 billion pesos, which represented a 225% growth versus the 2019 edition. Five out of 10 shopped online to avoid crowds in physical stores, according to AMVO figures.

The most popular social network used to generate audience during the Buen Fin 2020 was Facebook, with 84% of the publications, compared to 9% for Twitter and 7% for Instagram. While Instagram was positioned as the platform that generated the highest volume of interactions within the Buen Fin content; Twitter accumulated 9% of the activity, with the lowest percentage of interaction during the event.

Payment methods

This point is very important and has to be considered by any company that offers a product or service.

The Buen Fin not only brings benefits to the customer, but also to the companies; this is reflected in the increase of their sales, the fact of making themselves known and being able to make those consumers who come to their physical stores or through the web, become regular users.

One of the aspects that you should emphasize as a business owner in order to create good shopping experiences is to provide payment options. That is why a large number of companies offer different payment options, mitigating this concern.

Online or remote payments, bank transfers and, above all, debit and credit card payments are part of these new payment options that have been replacing traditional cash handling.

In this date the average ticket probably increases and people are afraid of bringing large amounts of cash or because they don't want to go out and make a purchase online. People's habits are changing, every day more and more consumers are using various methods beyond cash.

How Clip can help you

It is almost unthinkable that a business, whether physical or online, does not have more than one form of payment enabled to avoid losing a purchase for that reason. The payment by debit and credit card is one of the most used in this event, but the pandemic has come to change the picture with the increase of online sales.

So if you are considering participating for the first time, you should at least consider using a POS ("point of sale") terminal if you are a physical business. If you are an online business, implementing remote payments is a good option. In both cases Clip has what you need to support you on this important date for businesses in Mexico.

Clip is a credit card, debit card and grocery voucher reader, which offers you several services that will serve you as a payment method and to organize your company.

Clip not only accepts these types of cards, but also accepts vouchers, points, Samsung Pay and Apple Pay. Unlike contracting one of these devices through banks, you can obtain Clip without the need of any type of agreement, nor do you have to pay minimum fees.

It is a mobile point of sale terminal, being this another of its qualities that make it stand out, the fact that it is easy to move and transport from one place to another due to its size; it is not necessary to stay connected in one place, you can use it anywhere where the 3G, 4G or wifi signal arrives.

It is easy to use, you only need a smartphone or tablet where you can connect the reader and download the Clip application, where you will create your account and immediately you will be able to use the device to collect your products or services in a simple way.

This way, if your business offers home delivery service or you decided to participate in a fair located somewhere in the city, you will be able to make the payment with debit and credit cards instantly.

Clip also offers you Clip Catalog, a service that allows you to upload more than 1000 items and organize them as you wish. From the app you will be able to monitor the detailed relation of your inventory, the most sold products and those that are behind.

In addition, by using Clip you will be able to offer your customers airtime recharges  with the main telephone companies.

Conclusion

Throughout these 10 years of the Buen Fin we see how its popularity has grown year after year, with a constant growth in the income obtained by the companies and in the number of companies that register in each edition.

Internet sales have increased, which leads us to believe that Mexican consumers have not only lost their fear of online shopping, but also value the convenience and the savings in time and effort when purchasing products at the click of a button.

Businesses have also learned a lot in these years. They know that it is not only about selling and taking out the merchandise, but also about making themselves known and attracting customers who in the future will come back to make a purchase in the same place, thanks to the quality of the service they received.

So, the better the shopping experiences you offer your clients, the better the response will be.

The important thing is that both parties benefit, on the one hand happy customers and on the other hand, companies that can grow and develop. Behind all this is the Mexican economy, which is the great beneficiary.