Peru has suffered one of the biggest death tolls for COVID-19 in the region, which has led to a fiscal deficit of -8.9% of GDP during 2020, as we show in our 2022 Forecast for Latin America. However, despite this, some numbers suggest a positive growth in some economic sectors. Peru’s Central Bank forecasts a powerful 11.9% increase in GDP for Peru in 2021, and part of that growth has involved Peruvian e-commerce. In fact, AMI analysis indicates that between 2019 and 2020, e-commerce’s share of total retail in Peru doubled from 3% to 6%. By 2024, AMI projects that e-commerce’s share of retail in Peru will reach 10%.
The LatAm E-Commerce Datapack, 2020-2024
Strategic data on market volumes, purchase habits, payment methods, demand drivers and more for 11 countries
Market Overview
Last report by Cámara Peruana de Comercio Electrónico (CAPECE) indicates that e-commerce sales in Peru reached US$6 billion in 2020, a 50% increase over 2019. It is important to note that e-commerce’s 2020 projected growth in Peru was only 30% before the pandemic.
Also, according to CAPECE:
- In 2020, there was a 300% growth in shipping orders made through e-commerce in Peru.
- In 2020, there was a 400% increase in the number of SMEs that entered to the e-commerce market in Peru.
CAPECE has not yet released information about Peruvian e-commerce 2021, or projected growth for online sales.
At Americas Market Intelligence (AMI), we use a different methodology than CAPECE to calculate market size, working 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. As such, AMI analysis indicates that in 2020, the e-commerce market in Peru posted slightly more than US$6.8 billion in sales.
Projections for E-commerce in Peru
According to AMI analysis, the e-commerce market in Peru will grow by 42% between 2020 and 2024 to reach US$28.2 billion.
The Top-Selling Products in Peru’s E-commerce Market
CAPECE report highlights the growth of e-commerce among these categories:
- Restaurants (10,190% growth)
- Fashion (4,451% growth)
- Appliances (971% growth)
- Department stores (255% growth)
- Fast food (24% growth)
It also reports the categories with the greatest demand on Mercado Libre Peru in 2020:
- Health (1,000%)
- Technology (600% growth)
- Furniture, home and gardens (300% growth)
- Sports and fitness (400% growth)
On the other hand, the firm ecommerceDB breaks down the most important e-commerce products in Peru based on their respective shares of overall revenue:
- Furniture & Appliances (23%)
- Toys, Hobby & DIY (21%)
- Food & Personal Care (19%)
- Electronics & Media (19%)
- Fashion with the remaining (18%)
The Main Payment Methods Used in E-Commerce in Peru
Unfortunately, the last report from CAPECE shows only an estimate of the top payment methods used for e-commerce in Peru 2020, because the last hard data comes from 2018:
- Credit cards (projected 32% share in 2020; 67% share in 2018)
- Debit cards (projected share 40% in 2020; 11% share in 2018)
- Cardless payments (projected share 28% in 2020; 22% share in 2018)
Alternatively, The Global Payment Report by FIS did list the most used payment methods for online sales in Peru 2020:
- Credit cards (30%)
- Debit cards (23%)
- Cash on delivery (14%)
- Bank transfers (11%)
- Digital wallets (8%)
- Postpaid (7%)
- Charge and deferred debit cards (4%)
- Prepaid cards (1%)
- Direct debit (1%)
- Other (1%)
According to AMI analysis, the most common payment methods used for e-commerce shopping in Peru 2020 were:
- Credit cards (38%)
- Debit cards (24%)
- Cash vouchers (13%)
- Wallets (10%)
- Other (10%)
- Bank transfers (5%)
In 2021 these are the most common payment methods used for e-commerce shopping in Peru:
- Credit cards (37%)
- Debit cards (25%)
- Cash vouchers (11%)
- Wallets (11%)
- Other (10%)
- Bank transfers (5%)
6 Megatrends in Latin America Payments for 2021 and Beyond
How to leverage the large-scale changes in the market
Main Devices Used for E-Commerce Purchases in Peru
According to CAPECE, these were the channels used to buy online in Peru during 2020:
- 58.6% of e-commerce purchases in Peru were made using a smartphone
- 40% of e-commerce purchases in Peru were made using a desktop
- 1.4% of e-commerce purchases in Peru were made using tablet
AMI analysis indicates slightly different percentages: 59% of e-commerce purchases in Peru in 2020 were made with a mobile device, while 41% were made with a desktop.
Also, by 2022 AMI forecasts that mobile devices will account for 73% of e-commerce purchases in Peru, and desktops will account for just 27%.
Factors Limiting E-Commerce Growth in Peru
- Peruvian consumers tend to use cash for transactions quite often, and this limits the penetration of e-commerce in the country
- INEI reports (as cited by CAPECE) showed a 70% internet penetration in Peru by Q3 2020. However, the amount of mobile lines went down by more than three million compared to the previous year.
- There is a need to drive both e-commerce and mobile internet in Peru’s provinces. There is a 60% of internet usage in only seven departments in Peru. In fact, Lima accounts for 90% of e-commerce market volume in the country.
- Banking is a big issue. According to FIS, 30% of consumers in Peru don’t have a mobile device or access to electronic payments.
- According to CAPECE, since the beggining of pandemic in 2020, INDECOPI reported about 70 thousand complaints related to online purchases in Peru.
The LatAm E-Commerce Datapack, 2020-2024
Strategic data on market volumes, purchase habits, payment methods, demand drivers and more for 11 countries
Going Further
#1 Our 2020-2024 E-Commerce Datapack contains extensive data on Peru. Click here to find out how to order a copy.
#2 For more specific data, AMI specializes in research and market intelligence for the Peruvian and LatAm e-commerce markets in a number of key areas:
- Identifying the major payment methods used in Peru’s e-commerce market to help merchants with strategic planning, market entry and market expansion
- Helping merchants understand the cross-border e-commerce potential in Peru and the practices that can increase cross-border sales
- Using artificial intelligence and machine learning to help e-commerce merchants focused on Peru 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
