"A coffee with..." Joana Santos, E-commerce Manager at GL SA

Empack and Logistics & Automation Porto: Tell us about yourself and your career at GL SA. What’s day-to-day life like for the E-commerce Manager at this company?

Joana Santos – I’ve been at GLSA for 4 years, where until recently I was in the Commercial Department as Export Manager for the European market. I recently took on the role of Marketing and E-Commerce Director, where I have endeavoured to integrate market trends into the company’s strategic priorities. E-commerce is one of the strongest current trends in a wide range of categories, also as a result of the pandemic and lockdown, which has forced consumers to make profound changes to their consumption habits.

My routine has a lot to do with defining in-store campaigns, launching products and their communication, and analysing performance. The attractiveness of the shop and the ease of the buying process, providing relevant information about the products is fundamental to my role. Every day I analyse the shop’s main indicators, such as visits, repurchases and average order value, in order to quickly plan and implement actions that will enable us to achieve the desired results.

As a team, I plan general and segmented campaigns and newsletters, and define the campaigns we’re going to publicise. This content is very relevant to shop traffic, which is why it’s so important.

E.L.Porto: In your opinion, what are the essential elements for starting an e-commerce linked to a physical store?

Joana Santos – In the case of a company that already offers its products physically, the online channel can and should be a privileged point of contact with consumers.

From my point of view, the possibility of communicating and launching personalised and exclusive campaigns is one of the great advantages of e-commerce, as is the flexibility of the purchase and the simplified consumer experience. An online shop must highlight the most relevant products for each customer and be constantly updated according to trends, the time of year and consumer needs. By this I mean that for an online shop to be successful, it is essential to offer an agile offer and communicate closely with consumers. For me, these are the strongest distinguishing points of e-commerce compared to physical commerce.

In addition, we mustn’t forget the ease of purchase right through to delivery, which is fundamental to a positive consumer experience. E-commerce is also very important for brands to work on their community, being a privileged channel of communication with their fans and consumers. This space has nothing to do with the physical space of a department store, where brands compete with each other for consumers’ attention, side by side, and with the possibility of communication being very limited due to the characteristics of a supermarket shelf.

E.L.Porto: How do you compete with the big companies in the market when it comes to online sales?

Joana Santos – As GLSA is a Portuguese family company, but with an international business and brands whose DNA is very much characterised by innovation, it’s part of our strategy to constantly look for alternatives to the status quo, challenging ourselves on a daily basis. This obviously extends to e-commerce. Here, GL’s great competitive advantage over other companies is the fact that we offer our entire range of fresh and healthy products, ready to eat, with frequent launch campaigns, promotions, offers of other products, giveaways that promote a healthy lifestyle, among other things. We are committed to the dynamism of our online shop.

We’ll soon have new editorial content in the shop, with the aim of helping our consumers to improve their lifestyles, whether it’s with recipe suggestions, proposals for when to consume fresh and natural products, like ours, or tips for a more sustainable future.

E.L.Porto: Finally, from your point of view and experience, how do you see the evolution and the near future of the e-commerce sector after the pandemic?

Joana Santos – It is well known that the explosion of e-commerce during the pandemic is slowing down with the progressive deconfinement and return to previous consumer habits and routines. However, the weight of e-commerce in global sales will be much higher than it was before the pandemic. I therefore believe that this channel will be increasingly relevant for companies selling goods and services, as consumers increasingly favour the ease and practicality of buying, without having to think too much about their decisions or waste too much time.

E-commerce responds to this need. In an increasingly fast-paced and stimulating world, the ability to buy anything wherever you are has become essential and basic, in the sense that any consumer expects any brand to provide this service.

That’s why I see e-commerce as a very exciting business, with many avenues for development and improvement, particularly in terms of environmental sustainability, with the reduction of physical shops, people travelling to those shops, and the development of more efficient transport of goods. On the other hand, e-commerce makes sales more accessible to small businesses by simplifying the structure needed to be close to customers, and this democratisation of brands only benefits everyone.