A guide to the Brazilian ecommerce market including payment methods, logistics, digital users, social media and growth projections
Economy
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world at 8.5 million square kilometres and is home to 211.42 million people. The largest age group is 15-64 at almost 70% in 2019 with the average age of the population at 31 years old as of 2015 (latest data) .
GDP per capita is currently at US$10,417 in 2020 and expected to increase to US$13,727 by 2025. Between 2003 and 2013, Brazil saw a growth of 87% in median household incomes which almost doubled the country’s middle-class population.
Digital User Insights
105 million users currently shop online, and this figure is expected to reach 138million by 2025. The average revenue per user is US$202 and will reach US$228 by 2025. The growth of users married with the growth of average spend makes Brazil an attractive emerging market for retailers.
Ecommerce Product Categories
Electronics and Media create the highest ecommerce revenue in Brazil, generating US$5 billion in 2020 and predicted to reach US$8.2 billion by 2025. Fashion is the next popular category at US$4.5 billon in 2020 and predicted to reach US$7.2 billion by 2025.
Logistics
Brazil doesn’t score particularly high on the World Bank’s logistics rankings, because the listing considers the country as a whole. Brazil is 85.69 % urbanized, so although some remote parts of Brazil may be difficult to access the majority of online consumers live in the country’s many cities. Cities like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro boast a wealth of online shoppers who are ideally located for delivery.
Preferred Online Payment Methods
As of 2019, (latests data) 54% of online payments are made with credit cards with paying by invoice, debit card and online payment methods such as PayPal, also popular methods. The most prominent alternate payment type is Boleto Bancário which is used three times more than all other alternate payment types combined for online purchases. It is a payment slip issued by a local bank which can serve as cash, or be used to purchase online using the relevant details. It accounts for 24% of total market spend, increasing to 40% for expensive purchases. Direct debit, e-wallets, e-financing, and prepaid cards are also used but much less frequently.
Internet and Device Usage
Brazil is home to 133 million internet users, with 132.46 accessing the internet by mobile, of which 77.6 million accessed the internet through mobile only. 56 million use a PC, of which around 3% of users aged 60 and over solely used PCs to access the internet. 49.5 million use a television and approximately 12 million use a gaming console to access the internet.
67% of the Brazilian population uses a smartphone as of 2020 which amounts to approximately 141.45 million people, and this is predicted to reach 72% by 2025 (157.85 million). Mcommerce generated US$12 billion in revenue in Brazil in 2019 and is expected to reach US$25 billion by 2023.
Imports
Brazil imports mostly from China (US$33.9 billion), United States (US$29.3 billion), Germany (US$11.1 billion), Argentina (US$11 billion), and France (US$5.12 billion).
Social Media
The average social media user in Brazil spends 225 minutes daily on their chosen social networks. Facebook is the most popular social media network with over half of all visits going to the site. Brazil is Facebook’s 3rd biggest market based on number of Facebook users.
Marketing
Digital marketing spend has grown steadily over the last four years, projected to reach US$6 billion in 2021. 74% of total ad spending will be generated through mobile by 2025.
For more market insights, check out the ESW series of blogs covering a range of emerging ecommerce markets.
*Insights derived from ESW data, Statista, WorldBank, OECD and other industry sources.
