Chile Economy: why you should start selling online for the country

11.Aug.2017 17:13 BRT
UPDATED 29.Jan.2020 18:55 BRT

Chile economy is growing economy since the reintroduction to democracy in 1990. The Santiago Chamber of Commerce estimates that online B2C sales in Chile in 2017 will reach US$3.3 billion, up dramatically from US$1.2 billion in 2012. It is also a very stable and mature economy, a star in Latin America.

You might also like: [INFOGRAPHIC] Facts about Ecommerce in Latin America (per country)

Chile Economy

63% of the population is banked

It has a 17.9M population with 63% of its population banked. The government helped reach that mark thorugh its program, ‘Chile Cuenta’– a low cost bank account available to every citizen who wants it. Afterintroducing a series of liberal economic policies in the 90’s, more international institutions entered the chilean market, leading to a 28% credit card penetration due to competition.

72.4% of internet penetration

The most relevant fact is the internet penetration rate of 72.4% also, the highest rate of mobile penetration in Latin America, 97% of users access the internet through their mobiles.

Chile is no different to the other countries, so social media and internet are driving the way people buy and behave these days. Although only 5% of the purchases are on mobile, one third of the population buys online.

Sell like a Chilean

Chileans are used to buy online and pay with credit and debit card which they locally call RedCompra. It is one of the most risk-free country in Latin America. The fact that there is only one acquirer and the customer needs to be authenticated, guarantees that the purchases are safer than in other Latin America countries.

The next most common payment method is cash, as in the rest of Latin America, Chile is no different. One of the most popular payment solutions is Servipag. This payment method allows the customer to make an online bank transfer, accepting local retail cards or pay a voucher in cash.

Tips to increase your sales

Chileans speak Spanish, so should your website – your customers should understand the products or service description.
Set the price in $CLP (Pesos chilenos) – this will help people to know exactly how much it will cost.
Have a responsive website – 58% of the population owns a smartphone and it will improve your sales if people can buy from it.

If you want to know more, you should also read this article: “South America Economy: Cultural aspects to be aware and how they affect the region”

Payment Methods in Chile

EBANX offers a full coverage of Chilean payment methods that allows merchants to access all their potential customers in Chile.

Chilean local payment options: Sencillito, Servipag, Multicaja and WebPay

Sencillito

Sencillito is an offline cash payment method in Chile. When choosing Sencillito, the user will receive a voucher that can be paid at any of the more than 1000 Sencillito stores with cash or cards ABCDIN and HITES. Sencillito is very similar to other popular payment methods in Latin America, such Boleto EBANX (Brazil) and OXXO (Mexico).

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Servipag

Servipag processes on average 9 million transactions per month and is considered the best billing portal in Chile. Payment confirmation always happens in real time. The company is constantly working to facilitate online shopping for Chileans, offering cash payment methods with security and quickness.

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Multicaja

Multicaja is a payment option that combines two different payment methods: offline cash payment and bank transfer. When choosing Multicaja, the customers can generate a voucher that can be paid in cash in any of the 5000 Multicaja affiliated places or alternatively, pay through debit from their bank accounts.

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WebPay Credit and Debit Cards

Using WebPay Chileans are able to securely use their debit and credit cards online. By offering WebPay with EBANX, you can access 52% of Chileans who use cards to buy online as well as easily integrate with other alternative methods in Chile to access 100% of the population.

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