The total population of Latin America is 650 million, the Internet coverage rate exceeds 60%, and the number of online shoppers exceeds 200 million. As an emerging market, the growth rate of e-commerce in Latin America is astonishing, with a growth rate of 63.3% in 2020, making it one of the fastest-growing regions in the world for e-commerce. Latin America has a full unlimited potential, it is of great significance to look into in advance.
E-commerce features and popular categories in Colombian
Colombia, with a population of about 50 million and Spanish as its main language, is a commercially attractive country in Latin America. Up to now, Colombia has about 35 million Internet users, accounting for about 70%. In 2021, Colombian e-commerce grew by 40% year-on-year, and 50% of online shoppers live in Bogota.
In Colombia, the popular online shopping platforms are MercadoLibre, and Amazon, in addition, Falabella, Homecenter, Exito, OLX, Linio, and AliExpress are also e-commerce platforms used by Colombians, and SHOPEE has also entered the market in 2021.
In Colombia, FaceBook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter are popular social networks. Compared with e-commerce websites, young people prefer to shop online through social media, of which Facebook accounts for the highest proportion. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the most important shopping festivals in the region.
E-commerce features and popular categories in Chile
Chile is known as the land of the world, with a population of about 18.7 million, an Internet penetration rate of 82%, and a smartphone penetration rate of 72%. It is the fifth-largest e-commerce market in Latin America.
The main consumers of online shopping in Chile are the young and middle-aged, with men accounting for about 48.8% and women accounting for about 51.2%. They pay more attention to clothing, 3C electronics, and personal care products, followed by tourism and outdoor travel products.
In Chile, the e-commerce platform MercadoLibre is very popular, and Yapo, Company, and Vendo are also well-known in Chile. In addition to shopping in B2C online sales channels operated by large retailers, Chilean consumers often choose Alibaba, Groupon, and some other overseas retail malls.
E-commerce features and hot-selling categories in Peru
Peru has a population of about 32 million, the local average age is 31 years old, there are about 24 million Internet users, and the network penetration rate is 75%.
In 2020, the size of the Peruvian e-commerce market is 4 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 120%, of which 72% are foreign products, 28% are foreigners buying Peruvian products, and 65% are concentrated in the capital Lima.
In Peru, a popular e-commerce platform is Mercado Libre. The fastest growth was followed by furniture and home appliances (23%), gaming and personal hobbies (22%), and personal care and food (22%).
E-commerce features and popular categories in Costa Rica
Costa Rica, located at the crossroads of Central and South American cultures, is known as the Switzerland of Central America. In 2020, the total population of Costa Rica is about 5.11 million, and the land area is 51,000 square kilometers.
In 2020, Costa Rica’s Internet penetration rate reached 69%. Its e-commerce sales increased by 26% to $232 million, ranking seventh in the overall e-commerce market share in South America, higher than Uruguay and Ecuador. In 2020, Costa Rica’s cross-border e-commerce accounted for 92%, much higher than local e-commerce. It is expected that by 2025, cross-border e-commerce will still maintain a proportion of about 90%.
At present, the mainstream online shopping platforms in Costa Rica include Walmart, Newegg, and Mercado libre. Among them, Walmart is one of the largest modern grocery retailer brands in the country. Electronic products, apparel, and media products are among the top three the most popular categories of local consumers. Among them, electronic products have the largest market share, and the growth rate in 2020 is significantly higher than that of apparel and media products.
E-commerce features and popular categories in Ecuador
Ecuador is located in the northwestern part of South America and is known as the Country of Bananas. The total population in 2020 is about 16.86 million, and the per capita GDP in 2020 is 5,792 US dollars, ranking 7th in South America, with Spain as the official language and the US dollar as the official currency.
Ecuador’s e-commerce sales in 2020 will increase by 34% to US$1.245 billion, and the compound annual growth rate of e-commerce sales in 2019–2024 is expected to be 16%. Among them, mobile e-commerce will achieve 79% growth in 2020, accounting for 35%, and it is expected that the proportion of mobile e-commerce will increase to 48% by 2025.
The categories that local consumers are most interested in include clothing and footwear accessories, electronic products, media products, food, and beverages, etc. In addition, beauty and personal care, and home care are also gaining momentum. Amazon, which occupies a large share of the Ecuadorian e-commerce market, will account for less than 9% of the market in 2020, and the rest of the platforms include LINIO. In March 2022, the Ecuador site of the South American e-commerce platform MercadoLibre was officially launched.
Characteristics and popular categories of e-commerce in Panama
Panama has a land area of 78,000 square kilometers and a total population of 2.85 million. The per capita GDP in 2020 is 12,509 US dollars. The official language is Spanish. The country has the Panama Canal, an important trade route. The currency of Panama is the US dollar, and there are no restrictions on foreign exchange. The world’s second-largest free trade port, the country’s capital is Panama City, and it is the local political, economic and cultural center.
Panama’s industry is underdeveloped, and daily consumer goods basically rely on imports. The most marketable products are medium and low-end consumer goods. More than 60% of the goods are from China. Currently, more than 200,000 Chinese live in Panama, and the Spring Festival is designated as a local national festival.
The country’s e-commerce market grew by 40% during the epidemic period, accounting for about 18% of the growth of e-commerce in the entire Central America region, but promoting small and medium-sized enterprises to implement digital payment methods and use Internet marketing is still the direction that needs to be worked hard. At present, Mercado Libre and Amazon have entered the country.
In general, Latin America is one of the most commercially attractive e-commerce growth potential regions in the world, and it is also the best choice for Chinese cross-border e-commerce sellers to explore emerging markets.
How to solve the payment issue if you want to head to South American countries.
The e-commerce payment methods in Latin American countries are very complex and diverse.
Therefore, if you want to cover your business in more South American countries and provide suitable payment methods for different groups of people, it is particularly important to cooperate with a platform that integrates all payment methods in Latin America. At present, Epay’s payment products have covered major countries in South America, integrating flexible and mainstream cash payment, cheap and fast local bank payment, and instant e-wallet payment, providing you with a diversified and localized one-stop payment method, so as to achieve user growth and improve order conversion rate.
Contact Epay if you need a South American payment solution.