Latin America E-commerce
Brazil leads Latin American online retail: 41.69% of adults bought something online in 2024 (World Bank Findex) and Pix made up 47% of non-cash payment transactions in Q4 2024 (BCB). In Mexico, 35.8% of internet users shopped online and e-commerce grew 7.1% in real terms (INEGI).
20 verified facts tracked for this market — each with its source, reporting period and evidence tier. Tier 1 = primary institutions (central banks, statistical offices); tier 2 = disclosed industry panels.
| Metric | Value | Geo | Period | Tier | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Export rate of small Latin American firms by online sales/purchasing activity | 18% (offline small firms) vs 67% (small firms that both sell and buy online)% of firms in size band that export | Latin America and the Caribbean (survey respondents mainly Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, with some Ecuador/Peru) | survey fielded Dec 2016-Jan 2017 and Oct 2017 (published in CEPAL working paper, 2019) | T1 | repositorio.cepal.org |
| Latin America and Caribbean firm sales paid electronically | 60.2average percent of sales paid by customers electronically | Latin America & Caribbean | latest available Enterprise Surveys year | T1 | extdataportal.worldbank.org |
| Brazil, all adults: have a lock on their phone (PIN, password, fingerprint) | 71.79percent | BR | 2024 | T1 | api.worldbank.org |
| Share of women 15+ in Brazil buying online via mobile phone or internet | 38.8045755957661percent | BR | 2024 | T1 | api.worldbank.org |
| Brazil adults 15+ who paid cash upon delivery for an online purchase | 1.91737093353904percent | BR | 2024 | T1 | api.worldbank.org |
| Internet users in Mexico who made online purchases | 35.8percent | Mexico | 2024 | T1 | inegi.org.mx |
| Brazil, all adults: own a mobile phone | 92.05percent | BR | 2024 | T1 | api.worldbank.org |
| Barrier to online shopping, prefers to buy in person, share of non-buyers (Mexico) | 21.0percent of non-buyers | Mexico | 2024 | T1 | inegi.org.mx |
| Pix transaction-volume growth, Brazil (fastest-growing payment instrument) | 52percent | BR | 2024 | T1 | bcb.gov.br |
| Mexican non-online-buyers who prefer to shop in person | 21.0percent | Mexico | 2024 | T1 | inegi.org.mx |
| Share of all adults 15+ in Brazil buying online via mobile phone or internet | 41.6925773438956percent | BR | 2024 | T1 | api.worldbank.org |
| Mexico electronic-commerce real annual growth versus total economy growth | 7.1% real annual growth of VABCOEL in 2024; total economy 1.2% | Mexico | 2024 | T1 | inegi.org.mx |
| Top online-purchase category, personal use & hygiene articles, share of online buyers (Mexico) | 77.9percent of online buyers | Mexico | 2024 | T1 | inegi.org.mx |
| Pix share of non-cash payment transactions, Brazil (Q4) | 47percent | BR | 2024 | T1 | bcb.gov.br |
| Brazil, all adults: can change the PIN or password on their mobile phone without help | 56.30percent | BR | 2024 | T1 | api.worldbank.org |
| Online buying via mobile or internet, poorest 40% by income, Brazil | 33.0024303454818percent | BR | 2024 | T1 | api.worldbank.org |
| Mexico other services share of e-commerce gross value added | 51.1percent | Mexico | 2023 | T1 | inegi.org.mx |
| Latin America and Caribbean marketplaces that do not admit foreign sellers | nearly 60percent of marketplace platforms | Latin America and the Caribbean | 2022 | T1 | desarrollodigital.cepal.org |
| LAC marketplaces offering open seller registration without prior operator approval | 62percent | Latin America and the Caribbean | 2022 | T1 | repositorio.cepal.org |
| Share of women 15+ in Brazil buying online via mobile phone or internet | 28.0537417615623percent | BR | 2021 | T1 | api.worldbank.org |
Connected markets
Same vertical, other geographies
- India ecommerce · 20 facts
- Singapore ecommerce · 20 facts
- Indonesia ecommerce · 20 facts
- Vietnam ecommerce · 20 facts
- Southeast Asia E-commerce · 20 facts
- EU E-commerce · 20 facts
Same geography, other verticals
- Latin America Fintech · 20 facts
Related benchmarks
Building in this market?
Validate your idea against this data inside God of Startups. Your idea is checked against the market, never shared with it.