Potential market? Shopee's investment in Latin America may reach US$1.5 billion

According to an analysis report released by Goldman Sachs Investment , in 2022, Shopee will make large investments in the Latin American market including Brazil , and the investment amount may reach US$1.5 billion (approximately RMB 9.6 billion ).

Currently, Latin America has a population of about 600 million and 300 million Internet users , a huge demographic dividend . It is expected that by 2025, the number of Internet users will increase by more than 20% , and online retail sales will reach US$160 billion (about RMB 1 trillion). According to a survey in Latin America at the end of 2020, 80 % of consumers believe that online shopping will become a normal part of their lives . It is predicted that by 2025 , food and personal care will become one of the fastest growing e-commerce categories .

At the regional level, Brazil and Mexico continue to compete for the top spot , accounting for 31% and 28% of the Latin American e-commerce market respectively. At the same time , the e-commerce markets in other Latin American countries such as Argentina, Peru and Colombia are also growing rapidly . Data shows that the current annual growth rate of e-commerce in Latin America is 19 % .

As the largest e-commerce market in Latin America, Brazil has maintained strong growth. According to Goldman Sachs, in the two years of operation in Brazil, Shopee has achieved a 5% e-commerce market share in 2021, and achieved 140 million total orders in the fourth quarter of 2021 , a four-fold increase over the same period in 2020 , and revenue increased more than three times to US$ 70 million (about RMB 450 million).

Data shows that Shopee 's downloads in 2021 far exceeded other competitors, including Latin American e-commerce leader MercadoLibre , making it the most popular e-commerce platform in Brazil.

In addition, Goldman Sachs analysts said that as Shopee continues to develop, the platform will cooperate deeply with more sellers and brands , and the variety of goods will also increase. At the same time, Shopee also faces challenges in logistics and distribution in the Latin American market, mostly relying on local postal services, which slows down the delivery of packages.

At the end of 2021, Shopee established its first logistics distribution center in Brazil, and began testing the last-mile business in Barueri ( SP ) , which will greatly shorten delivery time. According to relevant news, Shopee will also start to build its own transportation network in Latin American markets such as Mexico and Argentina .

Shopee

Latin America

Brazil