Black Friday as an opportunity for retailers must be on everyone’s radar by now, but a lesser-known but more popular holiday in Mexico – for shoppers at least – is the upcoming El Buen Fin.
El Buen Fin is a nationwide shopping event in Mexico, very similar to Black Friday, created in 2011 to stimulate the Mexican economy. Something it has achieved admirably, with 239 billion pesos (approx US$12 billion) in sales recorded in 2020 – almost doubling from 2019 (120 billion pesos/US$6 billion).
The event is four days long and takes place the weekend before the Mexican Revolution holiday, scheduled this year from 19-22th November 2021. Both online and offline retailers participate.
Opportunities for Retailers
Research from ESW shows a significant spike in shopping online in Mexico for the four days of El Buen Fin, with an even bigger spike for Black Friday and a slightly smaller, but still impressive, jump for Cyber Monday 2018.
While selling online across borders into Mexico is challenging – from reduced internet penetration in rural areas, and a lack of credit cards across the population at only 34% – it is an enormous opportunity, that can pay handsome dividends through an optimized, local solution.
57% of those who shop online use debit cards to pay for purchases, with credit cards, e-wallets, and bank deposits the next popular methods. Nearly 50% of ecommerce transactions in Mexico are paid via payment at convenience store Oxxo and through bank transfers. Cash on delivery – which can be facilitated by a PayPal credit card – is another popular way to pay online.
El Buen Fin and Black Friday are the biggest shopping holidays in Mexico surpassed only by Christmas, meaning that the six weeks leading to the end of the year are a great time for ecommerce retailers to focus their attention on the market.
