As one of the most advanced ecommerce markets in Latin America, Brazil is expected to continue to flourish over the next few years. Presenting many opportunities for businesses that wish to penetrate this market, the Brazilian ecommerce space also brings about specific complexities. During the last couple of years, cross-border ecommerce revenues registered fantastic growth – and the trend continued over the past 12 months, with the cross-border transaction value increasing by 92%.
Mobile payments accounted for 13% of all ecommerce traffic, compared to desktop devices which accounted for 87%. Despite the ratio of mobile payments compared to desktop payments being low, the value of mobile transactions has increased by 111%. All these developments are proof that the payments and ecommerce ecosystems in Brazil are experiencing great changes, and in order to grasp this opportunity, digital players should definitely consider them before entering this market.
Some of the most relevant factors driving online purchases in Brazil are cheaper prices, a greater product range, the possibility to avoid crowded places, and the overall more convenient way of comparing and choosing products. Therefore, convenience is king for Brazilian shoppers – and the most valued advantage of online shopping, according to Statista’s survey carried out in 2022, is direct delivery to their homes.
In terms of the main online avenues for merchants in Brazil, both search engines and social networks are popular, but it depends mostly on various ecommerce segments whether users prefer one or the other. For instance, furniture and appliances are reached mainly through search engines, whereas fashion and accessories through social media.
One of the most relevant developments in Brazil’s payments landscape is represented by the introduction of Pix, a multi-purpose open instant-payment scheme developed by the Central Bank of Brazil with the aim of making banking and consumer interactions more inclusive.
Pix became fully operational on 16 November 2020, and it was adopted quickly and massively by both users, for whom it is free of charge, and merchants. Today, Pix is already among the top 3 preferred payment options in Brazil – ahead of e-wallets, debit cards, and bank transfers.
Due to the increasing popularity of Pix, among other factors, in 2021, Brazil recorded 8.7 billion real-time transactions, and the widespread adoption of this payment method led to estimated cost savings of USD 5.7 billion for businesses and consumers. Moreover, with the upcoming functionalities of Pix – such as international or recurring payments – we expect to see further growth and an increase in ATV.
The Brazilian market saw a decrease in the volume of transactions for credit and debit cards. However, as shoppers tend to reduce their purchase frequency and increase their basket sizes, this has resulted in an increased ATV by 57% (USD 127). Although the rise of ATV could be seen as a result of inflated prices, this could also be explained by shoppers increasing their discretionary spending over mandatory spending.
On the other hand, payment methods such as Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and e-wallets have risen in popularity in the Brazilian market. One of the reasons behind the increased use of e-wallets is Brazilians’ concern over fraud targeting credit and debit cards – which led them to opt for a payment method that provides only tokenized details of their financial identity.
When it comes to the payment channels preferred by Brazilian online shoppers, mobile payments accounted for 13% of all ecommerce traffic, compared to desktop devices which accounted for 87% of ecommerce traffic. Despite the ratio of mobile payments compared to desktop payments being low, the value of mobile transactions has increased by over 2X (111%). This was primarily driven by the domestic value of transactions increasing by 133%.
Consumers in Brazil have clear preferences when it comes to how and when they want to have their online purchases delivered to them. According to Statista, 66% of surveyed Brazilian online shoppers stated that getting their package delivered on the weekend was the most important option they could have regarding the delivery of purchased items, and 59% claimed that they would like to benefit from same-day delivery. Other important factors for Brazilian online shoppers are being able to choose the pick-up location and having the option to get their purchased goods delivered on Saturday.
As the fifth largest country in the world, Brazil’s geography may lead to logistical issues that ecommerce companies must be aware of. These challenges – that range from regions with no coverage from delivery companies to regions with unsafe product deliveries – must be taken into account by merchants wanting to expand in this market, and in order to be successful, they must collaborate with both domestic and international logistics companies.
The Brazilian Consumer Code provides the consumer the option to withdraw from the purchase of a product or service for purchases made via Internet, but it does not apply to purchases made in a physical store. The Brazilian Consumer Protection Code was introduced in 1990, and since then, it has been updated several times.
Besides having the right to withdraw from the purchase of physical and digital goods bought online, Brazilian customers are entitled also to compensation for any wrongful charges. They have the right of retraction within seven calendar days from the date of signature of the agreement or from the day they receive the product or service sold. If consumers decide to exercise this right, they should be reimbursed by the seller promptly for the returned products and other transaction costs (expenses with postal services for returning the product and the monetary restatement).
This snapshot was first published in 2023 in ‘eCommerce Insights and Trends Snapshot: Brazil, an eBook produced by The Paypers in association with our partner ACI Worldwide – and based on data from ACI Worldwide. Download your free copy of the eBook here to gain access to a much more comprehensive analysis of the main trends and developments in the Brazilian ecommerce market.
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