Christmas 2020 will have record sales for the holiday in e-commerce, with BRL 21.7 billion in sales. The projection comes from the Brazilian Association of Electronic Commerce (ABComm), in partnership with Neotrust, which brings transactional and real data on e-commerce in Brazil.
The amount represents a nominal growth of 54%, compared to Christmas 2019. According to the data, the average ticket for Christmas gifts purchased over the Internet will be around BRL 470, an increase of 3% in relation to the average value spent last Christmas.
ABComm/Neotrust estimates that by December 24, more than 46 million orders will be placed in Brazilian online stores. “What we are experiencing in this year of 2020 is a situation of social isolation and temporary closure of trade, which has led e-commerce to very robust levels,” said Rodrigo Bandeira, Vice President of ABComm, in an interview with LABS.
According to ABComm, e-commerce, which had been growing strongly in recent years, was accelerated by the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Between April and August, approximately seven million Brazilians for the first time tried to buy online, due to the lack of options to buy in brick-and-mortar stores. On the other hand, more than 150,000 companies opened virtual stores, motivated by the sudden closing of their doors.
“We still have a very positive expectation of growth at Christmas, mainly because people who still want to remain isolated and are cautious are afraid to resort to traditional commerce because of the crowding. And then the internet is a good way out”, comments Bandeira.
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Black Friday and Christmas are the two biggest moments of consumption for e-commerce this 2020, according to ABComm. “We hope that e-commerce will continue to collaborate with the isolation and protection of Brazilian families.”
Christmas in Brazil is traditionally marked by agglomerations in shopping malls, with extended opening hours to serve this audience. According to Bandeira, even if those who fulfil social isolation are already tired and with the need to go street shopping, it is not yet the time for that.
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“The Internet has been performing splendidly throughout this year by offering better products and delivery times. The bets on e-commerce have risen to levels that are likely to be maintained”, he comments, stressing that the rise of e-commerce in 2020 is due both to the entry of new stores into the virtual world and the large-scale entry of new consumers.
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According to Bandeira, the stores are ready for the demand. “Without prior notice, the stores had an excellent performance at the beginning of the pandemic, surprisingly positive, and were also the scene of job vacancies in the logistics area, in the area of management of virtual stores, which also collaborated to expand opportunities of jobs and at the same time improve the quality of internet shopping.”
