Realities of E-Commerce in Mexico Today

Among the few good things resulting from the COVID-induced confinement, besides the consciousness we gained after everything we lived and suffered, was the impressive growth of e-commerce in Mexico. In 2020, it reached a value of MX$316 billion (US$15 billion), which translates to 81 percent growth compared to 2019. By the close of 2021, the expectation is for 35 percent growth compared to the previous year.

Mexico ranks second in Latin America for the highest e-commerce growth, behind Brazil. The products generating the most interest among Mexicans for online purchases are:

o Food delivery

o Technology

o Supermarkets

o Medicines

o Fashion and accessories

o Beauty and personal care

The most successful e-businesses in Mexico are:

o Mercado Libre

o Amazon

o Walmart

o Coppel

o Liverpool

The main reasons why Mexicans shop online:

o Convenience

o Time savings

o Payment methods

o Logistics and fast delivery

o Buying products that are more difficult to get in local stores

The main consumers who use e-commerce are women between 25 and 35 years old. They live in the central part of the country and a good portion of online consumers always use the internet to research what they are going to buy or what service they will hire beforehand.

With all that, if you own a business and you are not yet venturing into e-commerce, you are wasting money and time. All micro, small and medium enterprises can certainly increase their sales and number of customers by extending into the digital world.

Finally, here are a few tips to ensure a smooth transition. First, approach a specialist to help you build your online store, your internet portal, social networks for your business, such as LinkedIn, and consider having an app, or application, because most buyers use their smartphones and not a computer when connecting to the internet to buy. Also, consider alternative payment methods because most people do not have a debit or credit card; if you provide payments by other means, you will increase your chances of a sale.

This applies to micro, small, medium, large and huge companies. All those that do not understand this change, will succumb sooner or later. What do Circuit City, Linens & Things, RadioShack, Frys, Borders and Barnes and Noble bookstores have in common? The answer is that Amazon replaced them.

I repeat, any company or business of any size that does not have a digital e-commerce strategy is practically destined to disappear; if you don't know where to start your strategy, check out my website where I provide ideas and tips to make it happen.