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~ Viva Brazil ~

THE HISTORY OF E-COMMERCE IN BRAZIL:

GLOBAL GROWTH

AND OPPORTUNITIES

Text: Pedro Guasti // Photo: iStock

The Brazilian e-commerce market is unknown to many. What can cross-border retailers bring
to this emerging market? What can the market offer consumers and retailers that are interested
in cross-border trade? In the coming issues of Cross-Border Magazine, we will focus on what
the Brazilian market has to offer. Get to know one of the world’s most promising markets at

this time, and what it has to offer you.

his year, e-commerce in Brazil turns twenty. We huge and natural for a new market that presented itself. In this
celebrate 20 years since the foundation of Ebit, regard, Ebit Nielsen played a key role in increasing confidence in
Twhich has become the largest source of Brazilian Brazilian online shopping and was the first company to launch
reference in e-commerce metrics. Since August 2018, a reputation service with its famous Ebit Nielsen Diamond,
Ebit has become a Nielsen Company and renamed as Gold, Silver and Bronze medals. With this service reputation,
Ebit Nielsen. many consumers began to rely on retail companies buying books,
CDs, DVDs and VHS but quickly trying out other products
The national market has been privileged enough to follow like electronics, computers and appliances. We have also seen
developments in online retail through the Webshoppers report, growth in sales of non-durable consumer goods such as clothing
currently in its 39th edition with two editions released annually. and accessories, perfumery and cosmetics and more recently the
Within the challenge of understanding the main events since increase in sales of categories such as household and decoration,
the birth of Brazilian e-commerce, I highlight some important medicines and automotive products.
points that I consider to be significant.
Changing the business model
Growth in billing Selling products and services over the internet has always been
In 2001, when Ebit Nielsen released the first Brazilian e-com- a very challenging task, with consistently low margins and
merce billing of R$ 550 Million (US$ 250 Million), there were profitability. In the first decade of e-commerce in Brazil, profit in
less than 10 million internet users in Brazil, and the number of virtual sales was rare and always justified by the opportunity of
virtual consumers was close to 1 million e-consumers. increase in sales, conquest of customers and increase of market
share. As of 2011, investors started pressure on the much-antici-
According to the latest data from Ebit Nielsen, the sector’s pated Break Even, cash generation and profit.
revenue forecast for 2019 is R$ 61.2 Billion (US$ 15 Billion),
totaling an average growth of 30% (compound annual growth Coincidentally in 2012 the announcement of the arrival of
rate, CAGR) in local currency in the last 19 years! Amazon caused the largest virtual stores and market leaders such
Even so, the share of e-commerce in the total Brazilian retail is as B2W (www.americanas.com.br and www.submarino.com.br),
still close to 6%, which is half of the world average. This demon- Via Varejo (www.extra.com.br, www.pontofrio.com.br and www.
strates the great potential for growth, as 7 out of 10 Brazilians casasbahia.com.br) and other big companies to accelerate plans
already have smartphones, and purchases via M-commerce have, for inaugurating their Marketplaces. Such companies believed
at the end of 2018, accounted for 40% of virtual sales. that they could open their virtual mega stores for sellers (third
party), which would grow quickly and with a greater assortment
Change of habit of products, lower inventory cost and higher profitability, exactly
In the early years of e-commerce in Brazil the distrust was like Amazon did in mature markets (e.g. the United States). like

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