Brazil E-Commerce Market Data [2023]

Brazil is one of the most advanced e-commerce markets in Latin America, with consumers spending an average of US$1000 on e-commerce purchases annually, according to Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI), now that e-commerce has penetrated 88% of the adult population. Also, according to PCMI, e-commerce in Brasil has an 11% share of the GPD.

That said, Brazilian retailers are the most sophisticated and capable when it comes to entering marginal areas of e-commerce and physical products, even leveraging new channels, e.g. social media and apps.

Below we share e-commerce data for 2023 in Brazil that comes from Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI), an AMI affiliate that specializes in payments/ecommerce market research. As a complement to this article, please read Infographic: How Brazilians Buy Online.

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Market Overview

According to the NielsenIQ Ebit report Webshoppers (47^th edition), e-commerce sales increased by 1.6% in Brazil in 2022 and reached R$262 billion (US$53 billion). Around 21 million new consumers started buying online in Brazil, creating a total of 108.9 million online shoppers in Brazil in 2022.

PCMI uses a different methodology than NielsenIQ Ebit to calculate market size, working in all merchant verticals, PC, mobile and in-app purchases, crossborder e-commerce transactions using a locally issued card and all card-not-present transactions, such as recurring payments.

PCMI analysis indicates that in 2022, the e-commerce market in Brazil produced US$216.4 billion in sales. Brazil’s 2022 e-commerce growth was 41% compared to 2021 sales.

Brazil E-commerce Projections

According to PCMI analysis, the e-commerce market in Brazil will grow with a CAGR of 17% between 2023 and 2026 to reach US$435.4 billion.

By the end of 2023, e-commerce in Brazil will reach US$274.5 billion in sales, according to PCMI, which represents 27% growth over 2022.

Best-Selling E-Commerce Products in Brazil

According to NielsenIQ Ebit, the top 10 e-commerce products in Brazil, in terms of sales, are:

1. Cosmetics and perfumes
2. Home décor
3. Food and beverages
4. Health products
5. Appliances
6. Clothes and accessories
7. Sports and leisure products
8. Baby products
9. Phone products
10.  Software

On the other hand, Statista indicates that in 2022, the top-selling ecommerce product categories in Brazil were:

1. Fashion and accessories (16.8%)
2. Beauty and perfumery (10%)
3. Food and beverages (9.1%)
4. Health (8.4%)
5. Home utilities (5.6%)

Statista’s data is based on the share of e-commerce orders in Brazil that was posted for each product category, indicated by their respective percentages above.

Top Payment Methods Used in E-Commerce in Brazil

According to PCMI, in 2023 the most common payment methods used in Brazilian e-commerce are:

1. Domestic-only credit card: 40%
2. Pix: 29%
3. Cash vouchers: 10%
4. Internationally-enabled credit card: 9%
5. Digital wallet: 8%
6. Debit card: 1%
7. Bank transfers: 1%
8. Buy Now Pay Later: 1%

According to Global Payments Report 2023 from FIS, in 2022 the most common payment methods used for e-commerce shopping in Brazil were:

1. Credit card (39%)
2. Account-to-account or A2A (24%)
3. Digital wallet (18%)
4. Debit card (13%)
5. PostPay (3%)
6. Prepaid card (1%)
7. Cash on delivery (1%)

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Devices Used for E-Commerce Purchases in Brazil

PCMI indicates that in 2022, 7 of 10 Brazilians (61%) used a mobile device to make their e-commerce purchases and that 31% of Brazilians used desktop computers to make e-commerce purchases.

PCMI analysis indicates the following breakdown of devices for e-commerce purchases in Brazil:

• 70% of e-commerce purchases in Brazil in 2023 will be made with mobile devices
• 3% of e-commerce purchases in Brazil in 2023 will be made

Customer Insights into Brazilian E-Commerce Shoppers

According to NielsenIQ Ebit in Webshoppers #47, some key factors to consider with Brazilian e-commerce shoppers include:

• The food and beverages category moved up significantly in terms of overall orders: in 2022 it ranked #3 in orders versus a #6 ranking in 2021
  • In the past 6 months, 38% of Brazilians used apps to buy pharmacy products while 29% used them to shop at supermarkets
  • Free shipping (61%), discounts (57%) and Not needing to leave home (48%) are the 3 main drivers for using supermarket delivery apps
• Free shipping (82%), discount coupons (67%), and price discounts (62%) are the most preferred promotions among delivery app’s Brazilian users.

• Brazil’s northern region grew the most in orders in 2022 (18%) but overall the Southeast still represented the majority (55%) of e-commerce orders in Brazil

• 72% of Brazilians surveyed reported that they engaged in cross-border e-commerce in 2022, vs. 68% in 2021

The Latin America
E-Commcerce Data Library

Strategic data for 15+ markets in Latin America

Explore now

Going Further

To learn more about Brazilian e-shopping, recent PCMI research may be helpful. PCMI’s E-commerce Data Library contains extensive data on Brazil. Click here to find out how to order a copy.

For more specific data, PCMI specializes in research and market intelligence for the Brazil and LatAm e-commerce markets in a number of key areas:

• Identifying the major payment methods used in Brazil’s e-commerce markets to help merchants with strategic planning, market-entry, and market expansion

• Helping merchants understand the cross-border e-commerce potential in Brazil and the practices that can increase cross-border sales

• Using artificial intelligence and machine learning to help e-commerce merchants focused on Brazil to analyze their customer data for a deeper understanding of e-commerce shopper behavior and tendencies so as to refine their marketing tactics, messaging, and consumer outreach

Contact PCMI…

if your company has specific data, market research or market intelligence needs regarding the e-commerce market in Latin America or in specific markets such as Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Peru.

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AMI provides competitive intelligence, consumer insights and business intelligence for a wide variety of firms operating in both B2B and B2C channels in Latin America. Core industry practices: Payments, Logistics, Energy, Mining, Consumer & Retail, and Insurance. +3,000 projects in over 30 LAC markets.

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