Why Brazil is the Largest Ecommerce Market in Latin America

27.Jul.2016 03:00 BRT
UPDATED 28.Jan.2020 17:48 BRT

Brazil is the largest ecommerce market in Latin America, with about 25M more active internet users than the United Kingdom. Brazil’s ecommerce revenue reached USD 22,387.90M in 2016, and the average revenue per user amounts to USD 366.17.

What do Brazilians do differently to be the 1# ecommerce market in Latin America?

1. Brazilians are highly connected.

In fact, the Wall Street Journal rightfully named Brazil “the social media capital of the universe.” Unlike in the US where many cell phone users consume mobile data without concern, Brazilians use social media apps to cost effectively communicate with friends, family, and colleagues. This swap of data to social media usage is a consequence of the excessive prices of telecom providers in the country. Correspondingly, Facebook is the most used platform making Brazilians the second largest Facebook population in the world–only coming in after the US. Whatsapp is also heavily relied on for communication. Half of Brazil’s population uses Whatsapp, which is about 91% of mobile users. In other words, Brazilians are almost always connected and open to what the world has to offer.

2. Brazilians purchase at competitive prices.

Similar to their prudent choices when dealing with telecom providers, Brazilians search for the best deals and freely bargain on and offline. According to an E-bit study published by Webshoppers in 2015, about 60% of Brazilian shoppers are more willing to buy online if there is a promotion or a loyalty program awarded with purchasing points. Chinese and US websites are the most frequented by Brazilians which affirms their inclination to buy competitively. Not only that, Brazilians prefer many international competitiors over national ones because they know that they can get a fairer price for the lastest products.

3. Brazilians want variety.

They favor many comparable options and this preference is what makes dropshippers like Mercadolivre.com.br or Olx.com.br extremely popular. However, these domestic marketplaces are outnumbered by international competitors in terms of variety. According to Alexa, an Amazon.com research company, Aliexpress.com is the number one international retail marketplace frequented by Brazilians. The rank of the Chinese wholesale retailer can be accredited to both the variety of products and the competitive prices of goods offered.

There are many historical and cultural factors that contribute to Brazil’s evolving ecommerce market, but a frequent online presence, a habit to buy competitively, and a desire for variety in combination are characteristics that make Brazilian shoppers more inclined to purchase online internationally.

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