MercadoLibre – Buyer Protection Plan

MercadoLibre

Over the span of six months, I collaborated with MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI), Latin America’s most popular e-commerce marketplace, operating in eighteen countries. I was part of a team of four who developed an overall strategic direction for the company in light of increased market competition from companies like Amazon and Walmart. The project culminated in a month long on-site work sprint in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the company’s headquarters, where we worked closely with top executives on strategic direction.

Business Initiative

  • Improving user experience identified as a key initiative to continue to enhance user engagement and loyalty, leading to growth and competitive differentiation
  • Significant and growing resources recently allocated to a growing customer-focused team
  • Tackling a redesign of the “buyer protection plan,” return and claim submission process, and dispute mediation

Project Scope

  • Preliminary review of primary areas of improvement for existing protection plan, considering leading competitor approaches
  • Research and assess competitor return policies across products and regions
  • Define key terms of a new Mercado Libre return policy for sellers to opt into
  • Suggest effective methods to incentive sellers to adopt
  • Develop preliminary roadmap for buyer/seller communication and implementation

Methodology

  • Interviews with functional leaders (development, sales, country managers)
  • Benchmark of terms and policies of leading competitors
  • Examples and mock-ups of potential implementations

Results

  • Defined four dimensions of policy to maximize purchases and minimize returns:
    • Time: 30 days; Effort: streamlined & automated; Money: restocking fees & return shipping costs; Scope: any reason, but new condition
  • Identified key incentives to offer sellers to adopt, segmented by existing seller levels:
    • Listing placement, visual enhancement, filter, rate discounts, customer service
  • Structured buyer/seller communication approach around lifecycle of each, with examples of existing and new techniques to effectively convey the benefits and workings of the policy
  • Framed implementation pilot, sample A/B tests, and illustrative regional launch plan