The Latin American e-commerce market will exceed US$23.1 billion in 2021!

Since the 20th century, Latin America has been one of the most polarized regions in the world, with Brazil and Mexico being the two fastest growing economies in the region, while Haiti and Venezuela are still mired in the mud of political struggles, unable to move, and their economies struggling to develop.

However, with the gradual development of infrastructure and economy, especially the improvement of the Internet environment, the total number of people in Latin America who use online shopping has now exceeded 267 million, accounting for 45% of the total population in Latin America.

According to statistics from 2020, e-commerce in Latin America has grown by 63.3%, which is five times higher than expected, making it one of the fastest growing e-commerce regions in the world. Mexico's e-commerce growth rate reached 65.2%, ranking fourth in the world.  

Based on the development trend, Statista predicts that the size of the Latin American e-commerce market will reach US$23.181 billion in 2021, and the number of buyers will increase to 77.9 million.

Especially after the outbreak of the epidemic, the increase in isolation and working from home has led to a surge in people's demand for online shopping, which has promoted the development of the Latin American e-commerce market, making the rise and take-off of the e-commerce industry a bright spot in the overall collapse of the Latin American economy in 2020. Merchants from all walks of life have smelled the business opportunities of e-commerce, and the number of eBay sellers from Latin America has also increased day by day.

Mercado Libre, as the largest e-commerce platform in Latin America, has nearly 642 million visitors per month from 18 countries in Latin America. Brazil is the largest source of traffic, accounting for 39%, followed by Argentina and Mexico, accounting for 22% and 18% respectively; Shopee, the largest e-commerce company in Southeast Asia , has also seen the potential of the Brazilian market and is actively expanding its business in Brazil.

In terms of sales of goods, Latin American regions also have their own characteristics: Mexico, Chile, Brazil and Bolivia are the leaders in the video game category; Argentina performs well in the music category; Jamaica uses vinyl records as a selling point; Colombia and Puerto Rico perform well in auto parts.

Regarding the development of the Latin American market, eMarketer predicts that Brazil will become the largest retail e-commerce market in Latin America in 2021, and e-commerce sales will account for 31.7% of Latin American sales. Mexico and Argentina will follow closely behind, accounting for 27.4% and 8.6% of the Latin American e-commerce market respectively.

According to estimates, the total number of people who shop online will exceed 350 million by 2024. The development potential of the e-commerce economy in the Latin American market cannot be ignored and is expected to become a new blue ocean market.

Latin America

E-commerce market