Latin America B2C Ecommerce Market Size & Forecast by Value and Volume Across 80+ KPIs - Databook Q4 2025 Update

Key Trends and Drivers

Instant payment rails reset how Latin Americans pay online

• Brazil’s Pix, Mexico’s CoDi and QR-based wallets in Argentina and Colombia are shifting ecommerce payments away from cards and cash-on-delivery toward account-to-account and wallet payments. In Brazil, Pix has become the country’s leading payment method by volume, surpassing cards and cash in everyday transactions and being widely accepted by online merchants. Mexican consumers increasingly combine card payments with cash vouchers and Oxxo-linked solutions, while Colombian and Argentine merchants embed local wallets (Mercado Pago, Nubank, Ualá) directly at checkout.
• Central banks and regulators are using instant payment schemes to promote competition and financial inclusion (e.g., Brazil’s Central Bank adding features such as Pix Automatico for recurring ecommerce payments and planning installment options that directly compete with card-based installments). High smartphone penetration and the prevalence of informal workforces make low-cost, real-time transfers more attractive than traditional banking.
• Fintechs such as Nubank and Mercado Pago are building card, wallet, and QR code propositions on these rails, integrating them into ecommerce checkouts across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Checkout flows will standardize around instant payments and wallets, especially for low- and mid-ticket ecommerce in Brazil and, gradually, in Mexico and the Andean markets.
• Card usage will remain relevant for credit and high-ticket purchases. Still, card schemes and issuers will need to compete more on value (rewards, installments, fraud protection) as Pix-style payments eat into transaction volumes. For merchants, payment costs and settlement times are likely to improve, supporting more SMEs to sell online and enabling new models such as subscription and pay-per-use services funded via instant debit rather than cards.

Marketplace ecosystems absorb logistics and financial services

• Regional marketplaces, above all, Mercado Libre, are evolving into full commerce ecosystems that bundle marketplace, payments, credit, and logistics. Mercado Libre reports that its revenue growth across Brazil, Mexico and Argentina is being driven not only by marketplace gross merchandise volume but also by its logistics network and fintech arm Mercado Pago. Brazilian retailers such as Magazine Luiza and large platforms in Mexico and Argentina are pursuing similar “ecosystem” strategies, integrating last-mile delivery, advertising and SME services.
• Latin American retail remains fragmented with many small merchants; marketplaces provide demand aggregation plus turnkey services (payments, fulfillment, credit scoring). Logistics infrastructure is uneven, especially outside major metros; large platforms are investing in proprietary networks and fulfillment centers, as seen in Mercado Libre’s multi-billion-dollar investments in Mexican logistics and technology.
• Access to working capital is a major constraint for SMEs; marketplace-linked credit from Mercado Pago and fintechs like Nubank is increasingly tied to sales histories on these platforms. Ecosystem platforms will deepen their role as default entry points for ecommerce for SMEs in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, thereby raising switching costs for merchants.
• Competition authorities may scrutinize exclusivity, data use and pricing. Still, scale advantages in logistics and payments are likely to widen the gap between leading marketplaces and smaller, stand-alone webshops. Cross-selling of fintech products (credit, savings, insurance) to merchants and shoppers will grow, further blurring the line between ecommerce platforms and financial institutions in major markets.

Omnichannel retailers repurpose store networks as ecommerce infrastructure

• Large bricks-and-mortar groups in Chile, Brazil, Peru and Colombia, such as Falabella and Cencosud, are turning stores into fulfillment hubs and pickup points, using “click-and-collect” and ship-from-store models to support online sales. Cencosud reports that strong online performance, alongside other businesses, helped drive double-digit revenue growth in 2024, with ecommerce accounting for a rising share of total sales. Similar strategies are visible in Brazilian grocery and home-improvement chains that use stores in secondary cities as last-mile nodes.
• Post-pandemic shopping patterns remain hybrid: consumers in São Paulo, Santiago, and Bogotá compare prices online but still value in-store pickup or returns. Delivery costs across geographically large countries such as Brazil and Mexico remain high; using stores as micro-fulfillment centers shortens last-mile distances.
• Traditional retailers face margin pressure from marketplaces and need to unlock additional revenue from existing store footprints, including dark-store style operations and in-store picking for online orders. Omnichannel propositions are likely to become the norm in urban Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, with same-day or next-day delivery anchored in store networks rather than stand-alone dark stores.
• Pure-play online retailers without physical footprints will face higher customer-acquisition and logistics costs, pushing some to partner with supermarkets, department stores, or third-party pickup networks. As retailers refine store-level inventory and data, they can better localize assortments and pricing by neighborhood, tightening integration between ecommerce and physical formats.

Cross-border and export-oriented ecommerce reshapes trade flows

• Cross-border ecommerce is growing in two directions: Latin American consumers buying from overseas, and SMEs using digital platforms to export. In Mexico, new tax rules applying a 19% duty on low-value imports from countries without free-trade agreements are shifting relative advantages toward regional players like Mercado Libre and Amazon and away from some Chinese platforms. In Colombia, the National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC) has developed a cross-border e-commerce logistics system that allows small producers to deliver coffee to customers in the United States in about 72 hours.
• Trade policy and customs reforms, such as Mexico’s treatment of cross-border parcels and Colombia’s updates to its Free Trade Zone, are explicitly targeting ecommerce flows and small-parcel exports. Marketplaces and logistics providers are building cross-border tools (duty-paid pricing, localized returns, SME onboarding) to capture export-oriented merchants.
• Nearshoring and reshoring trends are increasing US and European interest in Mexican and Colombian suppliers, with ecommerce platforms providing a low-friction route to test demand. Mexican, Colombian, Chilean, and Brazilian SMEs will find it easier to reach US and European consumers directly via marketplaces and D2C sites, especially in categories such as apparel, food, and specialty products (e.g., coffee).
• At the same time, regulatory tightening on small-parcel imports will likely temper the growth of ultra-low-cost cross-border offers from Asia in some markets, creating space for domestic and regional ecommerce players to consolidate share. Logistics providers in Colombia, Mexico and Brazil are likely to expand capacity for small-parcel export and returns handling, moving cross-border ecommerce closer to standard trade channels.

Competitive Landscape

Current State of the Market

• Ecommerce in Latin America is shaped by a concentrated competitive structure where a few regional platforms, particularly in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Colombia, anchor most online activity. Marketplaces dominate direct-to-consumer channels because they address structural barriers such as logistics fragmentation, payment friction, and low SME digitisation.
• Brazil remains the region’s most competitive market, with multi-category players, fintech-linked checkouts and dense last-mile networks. Mexico’s market intensity continues to rise, driven by cross-border entrants and regulatory changes targeting low-value imports. Chile and Colombia show strong omnichannel participation from major retailers, with integrated digital store networks.

Key Players and New Entrants

• Mercado Libre remains the region’s largest platform with strong positions in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, supported by its logistics arm (Mercado Envios) and fintech unit (Mercado Pago). Amazon continues to grow in Brazil and Mexico, expanding its fulfillment infrastructure and Prime adoption. In Chile and Colombia, omnichannel groups such as Falabella and Cencosud maintain a high share via retail-anchored ecommerce.
• Newer entrants include fast-scaling fintech ecosystems such as Nubank, which is embedding ecommerce discovery and merchant services within its app in Brazil and Mexico. Asian cross-border players, including Shein and AliExpress, remain active, with Shein expanding its local seller programs in Brazil and Mexico.

Recent Launches, Mergers, and Acquisitions

• Recent moves highlight the intensifying competition for scale in logistics and payments. Mercado Libre announced new investments in Mexico for fulfillment and delivery automation, while Amazon expanded logistics capacity in Brazil. Shein secured partnerships with local manufacturers in Brazil to build a more hybrid local-cross-border model.
• Regional supermarkets such as Cencosud and Grupo Éxito continued to invest in online fulfillment consolidation and in the expansion of their digital marketplaces. Fintech-ecommerce convergence also accelerated, with Nubank extending credit products linked to marketplace purchases.

This title is a bundled offering, combining the following 6 reports, covering 400+ tables and 550+ figures for the Ecommerce Market:

Report Scope

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Market Size and Growth Dynamics

• Gross Merchandise Value
• Gross Merchandise Volume
• Average Value per Transaction

Latin America Social Commerce Market Size and Growth Dynamics

• Gross Merchandise Value
• Gross Merchandise Volume
• Average Value per Transaction

Latin America Quick Commerce Market Size and Growth Dynamics

• Gross Merchandise Value
• Gross Merchandise Volume
• Average Value per Transaction

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Market Segmentation by Ecommerce Vertical

• Retail Shopping
• Travel & Hospitality
• Online Food Service
• Media & Entertainment
• Healthcare & Wellness
• Technology Products & Services
• Other

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Market Segmentation by Retail Shopping Category

• Clothing, Footwear & Accessories
• Health, Beauty & Personal Care
• Food & Beverage
• Appliances & Electronics
• Home Improvement
• Books, Music & Video
• Toys & Hobby
• Auto Parts & Accessories
• Other

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Market Segmentation by Retail Shopping Sales Channel

• Platform-to-Consumer
• Direct-to-Consumer
• Consumer-to-Consumer

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Market Segmentation by Travel & Hospitality Category

• Air Travel
• Train & Bus
• Taxi & Ride-Hailing
• Hotels & Resorts
• Other

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Market Segmentation by Travel and Hospitality Sales Channel

• Air Travel- Aggregator App
• Air Travel- Direct-to-Consumer
• Train & Bus- Aggregator App
• Train & Bus- Direct-to-Consumer
• Taxi & Ride-Hailing- Aggregator App
• Taxi & Ride-Hailing- Direct-to-Consumer
• Hotels & Resorts- Aggregator App
• Hotels & Resorts- Direct-to-Consumer
• Other- Aggregator App
• Other- Direct-to-Consumer

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Market Segmentation by Online Food Service Sales Channel

• Aggregator App
• Direct-to-Consumer

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Market Segmentation by Media & Entertainment Sales Channel

• Streaming Services
• Movies & Events
• Theme Parks & Gaming
• Other

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Market Segmentation by Engagement Model

• Website-Based
• Live Streaming

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Market Segmentation by Location

• Cross-Border
• Domestic

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Market Segmentation by Device

• Mobile
• Desktop

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Market Segmentation by Operating System

• iOS / macOS
• Android
• Other Operating Systems

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Market Segmentation by City Tier

• Tier 1
• Tier 2
• Tier 3

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Market Segmentation by Payment Instrument

• Credit Card
• Debit Card
• Bank Transfer
• Prepaid Card
• Digital & Mobile Wallet
• Other Digital Payment
• Cash

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Consumer Demographics & Behaviour

• Market Share by Age Group
• Market Share by Income Level
• Market Share by Gender

Latin America B2C Ecommerce User Statistics & Ratios

• Internet Users
• Ecommerce Users
• Social Media Users
• Smartphone Penetration
• Banked Population
• Ecommerce Per Capita
• GDP Per Capita
• Ecommerce as % of GDP
• Cart Abandonment Rate
• Product Retun Rate

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Operational Metrics by Ecommerce Segment

• Gross Merchandise Value by Segment

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Operational Metrics by Retail Shopping Category

• Gross Merchandise Value by Category

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Operational Metrics by Sales Channel

• Gross Merchandise Value by Channel

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Operational Metrics by Location

• Gross Merchandise Value by Location

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Operational Metrics by Device

• Gross Merchandise Value by Device

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Operational Metrics by Operating System

• Gross Merchandise Value by Operating System

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Operational Metrics by City Tier

• Gross Merchandise Value by City Tier

Latin America B2C Ecommerce Operational Metrics by Payment Instrument

• Gross Merchandise Value by Payment Instrument

Reasons to Buy

• Comprehensive Market Intelligence: Develop a complete understanding of the B2C ecommerce landscape in Latin America with fundamental ecommerce metrics such as gross merchandise value, gross merchandise volume, and average value per transaction across all major ecommerce segments.
• Granular Segmentation and Cross-Analysis: Analyse the online retail ecosystem through detailed segmentation covering ecommerce segments, retail product categories, travel and hospitality verticals, media and entertainment services, sales channels, devices, operating systems, cities, and payment instruments, enabling deep insight into evolving consumer shopping patterns.
• Operational and Performance Benchmarking: Benchmark marketplaces, direct-to-consumer platforms, aggregators, and category-focused players using KPIs such as GMV share, category-level performance, channel efficiency, device contribution, and payment mode penetration, supporting comparative assessment of platform strengths and competitive positioning.
• Consumer Behavior and Ecosystem Readiness: Understand how demographics, income groups, gender mix, device usage, and payment preferences shape online purchasing decisions, influencing category demand, cart abandonment behavior, product return tendencies, and the shift toward digital-first commerce.
• Data-Driven Forecasts and KPI Tracking: Access a structured dataset of 80+ ecommerce KPIs with historical and forecast values up to 2029, providing clarity on growth drivers, category expansion, sales-channel transitions, and payment-instrument evolution across the B2C ecommerce value chain.
• Decision-Ready Databook Format: Delivered in a standardized, analytics-friendly databook format aligned with financial modeling requirements, enabling ecommerce companies, consumer brands, payment providers, technology firms, and investors to conduct evidence-based market assessment and strategic planning.