The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the nation for more than a year, and a lot of brick-and-mortar businesses suffered since then.
While many entrepreneurs held back to adapt, most of them thrived in the digital space. Maricar Reyes shares her experience in keeping Maricar’s Chocolate Cakes up and running amid the pandemic with Lalamove as delivery partner.
Hootsuite and We Are Social revealed that 64 percent of Filipino internet users are spending more time on social media, with 23 percent indicating increased activity in online shopping. With consumers opting to purchase items online, digitalization was embraced by many entrepreneurs and the importance of third-party courier services strengthened even further.
Maricar has been serving delectable cakes in gold tin cans since 2015. He moist chocolate cakes have been the craze since its launch. Over the years, they came up with two more cake variants—coffee and ube-cheese, served in smaller jars. Fast forward to 2020, the pandemic restrictions rendered the nation immobilized and this made Maricar concerned for her business.
“Prior to ECQ, majority of our customers preferred visiting our physical stores and booths at bazaars. We needed to shift the way we did things in order to keep everyone safe, and reach our customers who are now staying home” says Maricar.
With this in mind, Maricar’s Chocolate Cakes persevered to keep loyal customers. They chose to rely on business partners to remain operational, one of which is Lalamove. Maricar Reyes trusted Lalamove even before the pandemic because of their convenience and tested reliability.
“Lalamove was our courier of choice since 2018, not just for our cakes, but for pick-up and delivery of other items needed for business,” says Maricar.
“They are also the courier we suggest to our customers for their cake pickups. I find their app simple and easy to use. Delivery fees are distance-based so the prices are more stable, compared to other couriers. The frequent discount vouchers are a happy bonus, too,” she says.
Every business will eventually have to make the transition to the digital space to keep up with the trying times. It is safe to say that Maricar’s Chocolate Cakes will continue to make people feel special with the help of Lalamove.
Launched in the Philippines in 2017, Lalamove is an on-demand logistics company that matches drivers with customers and SME businesses to fulfil same-day deliveries.
Its mission of making local deliveries faster and simpler is achieved through innovations such as instant order matching, real-time GPS vehicle tracking, 24/7 services and a driver rating system.