Buenos Aires, January 28, 2026 (NA) – “Why are we selling less?”, the owner of a health supplies distributor asked a dozen employees working at the counter. In response, she heard that “there are fewer people on the street and fewer are coming into the store to buy”. Statistics could back up this conclusion, as they indicate that at the end of 2025, sales are still below 2023 levels, and the general explanation points to the persistent loss of purchasing power and household adjustments, in addition to consumption being restrained and focused on prices and offers. Likewise, small and medium-sized retail businesses invoiced 5.2% less year-on-year in December. The business owner locked herself to do the math and discovered that some clients who had no financial problems six months ago had not placed any orders. She noted that after the pandemic, in-store sales had again become prominent over online orders, but before the lockdown, employees used to contact industry players to share news, offers, and check their needs. Although the contact was by phone, it was personalized until the pandemic shifted it online, and purchases began to fill a virtual shopping cart. It was clear that after returning to in-person interaction, this had stopped. Defending the customer base. After doing the calculations, she met again with the employees at the counter and showed them that even though they had returned to their jobs, they had maintained the automation of the sales service, which was reflected in a decrease in orders. The reasoning was simple: the depersonalization of customer service gave up the advantage of seizing opportunities to meet non-immediate needs, and made them compete with online platforms as just one more option. Consequently, she selected customers who had not purchased for a long time but were still active, called them one by one, and from these conversations, it emerged that they became interested in new products that turned into sales. Demonstration effect. According to the veteran business owner, with over 50 years of experience in the industry, she showed her staff a demonstration effect to urge them to abandon the passivity of waiting for customers to come in and to activate their contact lists. She asked them if they preferred to continue with that attitude or force her to close public sales and lay them off. The anecdote is real and is backed by an article by Katya Polanco on the Tienda Nube blog. It highlights that some reasons for a period of low sales in a business can be: not knowing customer needs, a poor sales team, and a bad purchasing experience. It emphasizes that leveraging digital channels, personalizing the offer, and adapting to change are strategies that help counteract falling sales. “A period of low sales does not necessarily lead to failure: it is the ideal moment to reinvent yourself, optimize processes, and strengthen the strategy for growth,” it states. Knowing how to identify the causes of a sales drop, acting quickly to reverse it, and adopting proactive measures to prevent it from happening frequently are the keys to survival and ensuring growth. It also lists the most common reasons for low sales: Lack of customer knowledge. Unclear or undifferentiated value proposition. Dependence on a single sales channel. Incorrect pricing strategy. Lack of sales team skills. Poor experience during the purchase process. Lack of follow-up with prospects. Ineffective marketing actions. Little or no adaptation to change. Seasonality. Almost as if it were written by the business owner who rallied her staff.
