Brazilian Ecommerce Market Growing Despite Economic Crisis

  SãO PAULO, BRAZIL - 02/08/2017 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

Brazil was hit hard by an economic and political crisis over the past two years. This led to an increase in unemployment and high inflation which in turn led to a substantial decrease in Brazilian consumer spending. According to Brazil’s National Industry Confederation, a non-profit organization that represents Brazilian industry, 59% of Brazilians have experienced a loss in purchasing power, which is forcing consumers to adapt to a new economic situation.

Consequently, the slowing economy in Brazil has affected overall growth projections of online sales in Latin America. According to eMarketer, retail sales growth in Latin America slipped from 5.5% in 2014 to 5.0% in 2016.

On the other hand, it doesn’t mean that Brazilians have stopped buying completely. They are just more cautious. Before deciding to buy a product or a service, they are searching online for more information, comparing prices and also search online to find discount codes and coupons that can help knock a significant percentage off their purchases. This has led to strong growth in coupon industry in Brazil with site such as Cupomterra ( https://cupomterra.com.br ) a leading cupon site in Brazil seeing an substantial increase in traffic over the past six months as Brazilian consumers look to be smarter with their online purchases.

Despite the crisis, ecommerce sales remain robust in Brazil. In the first quarter of 2016, revenue from ecommerce reached R$9.75 billion. This represented roughly 106 million products. The average value per order increased 7%, according to E-bit, a Brazilian research firm.

Approximately 39 million Brazilian consumers — out of a total population of roughly 200 million — purchased products and services online in 2015, according to Ebit, which also reported 2015 retail ecommerce revenue of R$41.3 billion (US$12.8 billion), representing 3.3% of total retail sales. An eMarketer forecast projects Brazil as the leader in Latin American ecommerce sales through 2019.

All eyes are now on Brazil to see how economic growth and ecommerce grows in 2017 and it could be the perfect time for more global companies to expand into the region.