August 4 (Reuters) - In March last year, Oziel da Silva Santos needed a new TV but with stores closed due to COVID-19 restrictions in Brazil's northern city of Belem, the 50-year old was clueless about how to get one. He followed a link on the website of furniture retailer Via Varejo and called a store manager.
On the other end of the line was Railton Sampaio, a manager at the city's largest Via Varejo. Sampaio helped him buy the TV online, sending the link for payment through the commonly used messaging app WhatsApp.