Among the larger individual economies in the region, Argentina was the fastest growing, with a retail e-commerce increase rate of 79 percent. Brazil’s e-commerce growth rate was 35 percent, while Mexico’s was 27 percent. The pandemic increased shipping volumes to Christmas levels in July all over the world as well as throughout Latin America. With the approach of summer, Hernandez sees a continued growth trend as the region works to vaccinate the population. South America consists of 33 individual countries and an additional 15 dependencies and territories. Populations range in size, with Brazil the largest at 212.6 million people. The Falkland Islands comprise the smallest with just less than 3,500 people. Most of these countries support their own currencies and have their own taxation and customs authorities. They have their own postal systems, too. But they are widely regarded as unreliable. So, you will have to be a bit creative in handling the last mile of delivery.
The pandemic changed the e-commerce landscape considerably in Latin America. The market growth elsewhere as a percentage was not as impressive, since those regions already had higher adoption rates. Yet their volume increases were just as high. That makes an opening that U.S.-based vendors should take. Successful marketers do not need to overdo e-commerce technology. Rather, they should utilize tech to better facilitate the logistical challenges. U.S.-based marketers and vendors need to be proactive to enter this marketplace. Obstacles do exist but are not insurmountable. Before the pandemic, Latin American consumers fell on the wrong side of the trust barrier. Many feared putting their credit card information online. That also included American citizens reticent to do business with Latin America for fear of credit card fraud. Covid-19’s arrival shut local stores. Latin American consumers had no choice but to change their trust issues. Now, a new level of confidence is evident that will sustain the region’s growth in e-commerce even after the pandemic has lifted. The biggest challenge businesses face when expanding to Latin American consumers is that each country has its own set of rules. It is important that businesses work with experts who are familiar with the region to help them avoid the pitfalls that have caused other businesses to fail.