Brazil's e-commerce grew 75% in 2020, and digital transformation brought permanent changes

As Covid-19 keeps consumers at home, almost all shopping has moved online. Mastercard's latest Recovery Insights report points out that this accelerated digitalization has brought more than $900 billion in revenue to the world in the past year . SpedingPulse data shows that e-commerce revenue in Brazil increased by 75% in 2020 , reaching 11% of retail sales.

Before the pandemic , e-commerce accounted for 6% of Brazilian retail sales , peaking at 11%. The current level is 7%, and the report suggests that about 1.3% of the change is permanent.

With an average 10% increase in online store visits by Brazilians so far in 2020 , the digitalization of businesses and online sales have become the lifeline for several retailers , restaurants and other companies, large and small. Thanks to virtual commerce, they have been able to bridge social distance and maintain operations.

About 20% to 30% of the global digital transformation driven by the pandemic is predicted to be permanent, according to the Recovery Insights: Commerce E-volution report, which is based on anonymized and aggregated sales activity on Mastercard Chain and proprietary analysis from Mastercard Economics , which examines the impact of this movement by country , industry, and goods and services.

"While consumers need to stay at home, their money can continue to drive local and global economies thanks to e-commerce," said Estanislau Bassols , general manager of Mastercard Brazil .

E-commerce is one of the fastest-growing industries in Brazil in 2020. Consumers turn to online shopping and e-commerce platforms develop rapidly. The Brazilian E-commerce Report shows that the number of visits to Brazilian e-commerce websites reached 1.49 billion in February this year , an increase of 21% year-on-year.   The number of visits to Shopee Brazil and SHEIN in January increased by 1465% and 552% year-on-year respectively.

The epidemic has prompted consumers to turn to online shopping. During this period, more and more people have developed online consumption habits and their enthusiasm is high. It is foreseeable that Brazilian e-commerce will continue to develop, and part of this development will be permanently retained. The earlier a company starts online sales, the more advantages it will have.

Online Shopping

E-commerce

Brazil