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Cross-Border Shipping: The Latin America Ecommerce Opportunity
January 12, 2021
Revolutionary technology has made ecommerce accessible to more people than ever before. People are willing to pay for products they have never seen or touched and are confident that companies will deliver. And deliver they shall, as more than 95% of all purchases are expected to be conducted via ecommerce by 2040.
While many know Ingram Micro as a consumer electronics distributor, in recent years the company has made significant investments in its logistics business and has gained significant foothold as a leading provider of global ecommerce logistics and supply chain management solutions. With 120+ facilities worldwide, Ingram Micro Commerce & Lifecycle Services provides a comprehensive suite of services, from order fulfillment, to repairs, to returns management, and even IT Asset Disposition, and is well-regarded for its ability to handle the entire product lifecycle. Contact us for more information.
Fashionably Late to the Party
While its northern neighbors have been enjoying the perks of ecommerce for decades, Latin America was slower to hop on the train and is finally showing more momentum in ecommerce adoption. Despite being one of the last to join the party, it is the second fastest-growing ecommerce market in the world and is projected to outpace the United States, Europe, and parts of Asia. In fact, Latin America ecommerce sales are expected to exceed $116 billion by 2023, a number includes the influence of the global pandemic. Reflecting on growth rates, eMarketer reported that the market is growing faster than anticipated — as of June 2020, growth was outpacing projections by 7 percentage points (more recent reports not yet available the time of writing). Electronics, fashion, and toys account for the main spending categories within the region.International Ambitions
Included in its growth is a demand for foreign products. While cross-border ecommerce was hindered by the pandemic, it is set to increase into the future. It accounted for 14% of total ecommerce spend in 2020 and will represent about 17% of spend by 2023, according to projections from AMI. Mexican consumers rank among the most willing to shop internationally and 50% are willing to accept a 15-day delivery window for their purchases.The Pandemic’s Effect on Ecommerce Trends in Latin America?
Ecommerce was already taking hold across Latin America when COVID-19 arrived. As it did in many regions, the pandemic marked a turning point in online consumer behavior and accelerated the adoption of online shopping. Ecommerce sales in the region skyrocketed in March and April of 2020, during the initial outbreak of the virus, and when surveyed in the fall of 2020, 78% of Latin American consumers said they would continue shopping online after the pandemic. In other words, ecommerce was making its way into the region and was accelerated significantly by the global pandemic.Logistics of Ecommerce
Order fulfillment and online returns are a critical component of any successful ecommerce business. We offer a network of warehouses within Latin America, including facilities in Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Chile, Colombia, and Brazil. Our Foreign-Trade Zone in Miami enables efficient shipping into and out of the region with an average small parcel shipping time of 3.1 days.While many know Ingram Micro as a consumer electronics distributor, in recent years the company has made significant investments in its logistics business and has gained significant foothold as a leading provider of global ecommerce logistics and supply chain management solutions. With 120+ facilities worldwide, Ingram Micro Commerce & Lifecycle Services provides a comprehensive suite of services, from order fulfillment, to repairs, to returns management, and even IT Asset Disposition, and is well-regarded for its ability to handle the entire product lifecycle. Contact us for more information.