Business

Shorter than in 2020, Hot Sale Mexico shrinks 8%, but shows that e-commerce boom is here to stay

The debit card was the most used payment method, and the average ticket grew, to MXN 1,590

Photo: HotSale/Courtesy

The eighth edition of Mexico‘s Hot Sale, which took place between May 23 and 31, reached MXN 18,5 billion in sales, an 8.6% decline compared to last year’s event. Although shorter than the previous edition – 2021’s Hot Sale had nine days, against 11 days in 2020 –, the event had a positive side: even amid the reopening of physical stores, consumers freely chose to buy through digital channels, and spend more in each purchase, showing that the change in behavior forced by the COVID-19 crisis is here to stay.

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“Our projections for this edition were moderated, [since] last year was totally atypical, and although the pandemic context took us to a new level in terms of e-commerce, the great question was whether it would be sustainable, not only in terms of sales but also in terms of logistics, customer service, payment methods and delivery options, coupled with the economic situation and global uncertainty. However, despite these challenges, the eighth edition of Hot Sale demonstrated that yes, today e-commerce is already part of the purchasing habits of millions of Mexicans,” said Eric Pérez-Grovas, president of the Mexican Association of Online Sales (AMVO), in a press release.

In total, 11.6 million buyers participated in this year’s Hot Sale, generating 567 million visits to merchant’s websites, 11.9 million purchase orders, and the sale of 15.6 million items. The so-called pure players, shopkeepers that only sell through the Internet, registered an increase of 24%.

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The debit card was the most used payment method, and despite the shorter duration of this year’s event, the average ticket grew: from MXN 1,140 to MXN 1,590.

Regarding the most purchased product categories, fashion (36%) and electronics (28%) were positioned as favorites, followed by the beauty and personal care category (24%). Without giving exact numbers, AMVO also said that the travel vertical showed a 193% increase in sales over 2020 – the year that tourism as a whole has suffered the most.

See the main numbers about 2021’s Hot Sale, according to AMVO:

  • 627 companies/sellers (28% more than a year ago);
  • MXN 18.5 billion in total sales (-8.6% compared to 2020);
  • 15.6 million itens sold (in 2020, it was 29.1 million);
  • 567 million visit to the participants’ websites (7.3% more than last year);
  • 11.9 million orders (just over half what was made in 2020);
  • 5.8 million buyers (18% less than last year);
  • MXN 1,590 as the average ticket (in 2020, it was MXN 1,140).
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