Retail e-commerce sales in Latin America 2019-2025

In 2020, retail e-commerce sales in Latin America were estimated to amount to approximately 85 billion U.S. dollars, nearly 35 percent more than reported in the previous year before the COVID-19 pandemic. According to forecasts, this figure is expected to rise to about 160 billion dollars by 2025.

Major markets in the region

Based on estimates from the Statista Digital Market Outlook, Brazil and Mexico would together account for about 60 percent of the e-commerce market in Latin America in 2020. In fact, forecasts for that same year indicated that retail e-commerce would represent approximately 5.5 percent of Mexico's total retail sales and 4.5 percent of Brazil’s.

COVID-19's boost to e-commerce

The unexpected outbreak of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 quickly impacted online commerce in Latin America. Confined to their homes, many consumers found in the web a safe way to make purchases and payments. While e-commerce revenues rose across the region, Peru stood out with an unprecedented 900 percent growth. It was foreseen that after such a boost, online sales in the Andean country would reach 3.6 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2021.