Brazil’s retail sector enjoys the highest share of ecommerce in all of Latin America and double-digit annual growth, with increases on the prior year of 16.3% in sales and 21% growth in number of orders in 2019, according to eBit/Nielsen data. However, the major factors driving these significant figures include the seasonal retail dates that drive sales and attract new digital consumers.
Some of these dates follow some particularities in Brazil, which has its own calendar different from that of most countries. Others that follow the universal calendar, like Black Friday and the recent Double Eleven (Single’s Day, from China), have proved to be a hit in the last decade, and break sales records every year.
Black Friday is a sensation with Brazilians
This retail event with large discounts first appeared in Brazil in 2010, and since then has become the year’s most highly anticipated promotional date, with historical data showing how it is more popular in online retailing, even stealing the show from Christmas and breaking new records every year. Black Friday lasts approximately one week in Brazil, with deals offered in the days leading up to and after the official date.
The increase in consumer confidence made 2019 the best year for Black Friday in Brazil since its creation in the country. Ecommerce sales on the five days of Black Friday were up 22% in revenue and 27 in number of orders, according to Ebit/Nielsen, outperforming all projections. Another interesting fact is that the number of purchases via mobile increased 87%, showing the value of an effective handling format.
Products with the highest buying intention during Black Friday are high-ticket items, such as smartphones, computers, home appliances, clothing, sports footwear, and fragrances.
The event proved an opportunity for brands to increase traffic and forge relations with new consumers who, even if they do not make a purchase immediately, can become engaged and convert their interest into a sale in the future. In 2019, the event registered 18.1% more e-shoppers.
Other important dates
Christmas is still very strong, concentrating some 5% of the year’s sales, behind only Black Friday, but there are other shopping dates that are very prominent in numbers, namely: Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Children’s Day. Father's Day, for instance, in many countries is celebrated in March, following St. Joseph’s day on the Christian calendar, but in Brazil this important date – that accounts for some 4% of annual online sales – is held in August. Children's Day is rarely celebrated around the world, but in Brazil, held on October 12, it is the fifth most important seasonal date, with high interest in the toys, games, and electronics segments.
Another date that occurs on a completely different day is Valentine’s Day, which is held in February around the world, but in Brazil is celebrated on 12 June, with strong interest in clothing, fragrances, beverages, travel and other segments.
Emergence of new seasonal dates to drive online retailing
Since 2014, Consumer Day in Brazil has been growing and driving sales, mainly in ecommerce, during one week of March, with high discounts and free shipping. Despite lower numbers than other more established dates, the event has great potential and is also posting annual growth in the double digits.
Another new date imported from overseas is Double Eleven, which comes from China’s commemoration of Single’s Day and is the country’s main date for retail sales. This trend is expanding worldwide due to cross-border ecommerce operations, which have made promotions from marketplaces such as AliExpress and Wish accessible around the world. In Brazil, in the first 38 hours of promotions in 2019, AliExpress registered 335.000 orders. As such, e-shoppers everywhere enjoy Double Eleven promotions, and the recent trend, which is becoming increasingly known and growing in Brazil, is expected to become even more established.
The growth in the order volume in stores that are not ready to meet seasonal demand can be a major problem. Effective and detailed planning must be made in advance to meet the surge in demand.
It is very important for cross-border merchants to know these dates, as well as other particularities of Brazilian culture, such as the local payment means that represent 90% of transactions. All this becomes essential for projecting high demand for products, as well as for implementing an effective marketing and sales strategy to take advantage of a large slice of this vast market of 210 million Brazilians.
About Bexs Bank
Bexs Bank is specialised in international payments processing and FX transactions for global ecommerce, SaaS and investments. Through a unique API Platform, our solution provides the collection of Brazilian currency via local payment methods, helping both big and small companies to connect with customers in the digital world and to expand their customer base geographically.
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