Look at your market from the outside and you’ll see the same scene in nearly every category: dozens of stores piled up in the center — similar price, similar assortment, similar promise. Each one trying to be a slightly cheaper version of the next. It’s the most crowded spot and the one with the worst margins. The way out isn’t to be cheaper; it’s to own a place no one else owns.
The problem with the crowded center
When everyone positions at the same point, the only tiebreaker becomes price — and that’s when margin evaporates. It’s not theory: price is the number 1 factor in the Brazilian consumer’s decision, and 36% abandon the cart when they find it cheaper on another site. Fighting over the center means joining a race to the bottom that you only win by bleeding margin.
Compete in the crowded center
“We’re like everyone else, just a little cheaper.” Zero differentiation, constant price war, falling margin. The customer chooses over a few cents.
Own the white space
“We’re the store that specializes in X” (or the fastest, the most curated, the one with the best service). A position that justifies price and creates preference — without entering the war.
How to map your positioning
The perceptual map is the classic tool for seeing this: two axes, everyone plotted, and the empty space jumps out at you. The step by step:
| Axis | What it measures | Good when… |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Price position, from budget to premium | The market has clear price tiers |
| Perceived quality | How the customer rates the product/brand | There’s varying perception of quality |
| Assortment | Breadth vs specialization of the catalog | There are generalists and niche players |
| Convenience | Ease: delivery time, shipping, repurchase | Delivery/service differentiate |
| Service | Support, consulting, after-sales | The product needs help in the decision |
Pick two axes that truly matter in your customer’s decision, position each player from 0 to 10 based on real perception (not what you’d like it to be) and look for where there are fewer people. That empty quadrant is your white-space candidate.
Positioning isn’t eternal either. Competitors move, new ones enter, customer perception shifts. As Michael Porter taught in Competitive Strategy (1980), sustainable competitive advantage comes from a set of choices that are hard to copy — and you only see that by revisiting the map from time to time, not just once.
Referências e leitura complementar
- Ries, A.; Trout, J. (1981). Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. McGraw-Hill.
- Porter, M. (1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. Free Press.
- Opinion Box (2025). Cart abandonment in e-commerce: causes and numbers. Opinion Box link .
- Neogrid (2024). Price is the factor that most influences the Brazilian consumer’s purchase decision. Neogrid link .
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