Black Friday in Brazil has grown into one of the most important retail events for both local and international merchants. Unlike in some markets where the hype revolves around a single day, a recent survey by E-Commerce Brasil shows that 83% of Brazilian consumers make their Black Friday purchases throughout the month or week leading up to the event. This extended shopping period creates both opportunities and challenges for cross-border e-commerce stores.
In this article, we dive into the insights from E-Commerce Brasil’s survey to help cross-border merchants understand the Brazilian market. From consumer behavior to payment preferences, we provide a guide full of actionable strategies that will allow your store to not only participate in Black Friday in Brazil but also maximize sales, build trust, and streamline cross-border e-commerce.
What Do the Data Reveal About Brazilian Consumer Behavior on Black Friday?
According to the data, Brazilian consumers approach Black Friday differently than in other markets: Their shopping journey is longer, more deliberate, and highly influenced by trust, convenience, and payment options.
In the following sections, we break down when Brazilian consumers shop, where they prefer to buy, what drives their purchase decisions, and the main reasons they abandon carts—giving you a Black Friday-focused guide full of insights to help your store optimize strategy and increase conversions.
When Do Brazilian Consumers Shop?
Unlike in the United States, where promotions are focused primarily on the day of Black Friday, Brazilian consumers don’t wait to make their Black Friday purchases. In fact, 44% make purchases throughout the entire month of November, and 39% start their shopping during the week of the event. Only 10% wait until the day of Black Friday to shop.
Insight for cross-border stores: This extended shopping period means campaigns should start early. Promotions, marketing emails, and ads need to be planned well in advance to capture Brazilian shoppers before they finalize their decisions. Waiting until the last minute could mean missing a large portion of the market.
Where Do Brazilian Consumers Prefer to Shop?
The majority of Brazilians consumers favor digital channels when shopping for Black Friday. 57% make purchases directly on store websites, while 52% use mobile apps. This shows that an optimized online experience is not optional—it’s essential.
Insight for cross-border stores: Ensuring a seamless, fast, and secure online shopping experience is key to capturing Brazilian consumers. Your website and app should be fully functional, mobile-friendly, and capable of handling increased traffic during the extended Black Friday period.
What Are the Most Important Factors Influencing Purchase Decisions?
Brazilian consumers are highly intentional with their spending during Black Friday. 67% say they purchase products they actually need when they find good promotions, compared to just 12% who buy because of advertising and 8% who buy on impulse.
While low prices and free shipping are top motivators, they’re far from the only factors at play. Trust in the store and access to familiar payment methods often make the difference between an abandoned cart and a completed purchase, especially in a market where payment preferences directly shape buying decisions.
Insight for cross-border stores: Brazilian consumers look for real value on essential purchases, not just flashy deals. Competitive pricing and attractive shipping offers are key, but so is reinforcing credibility and offering familiar payment experiences. Providing options like Pix and installment plans on credit cards can significantly boost conversion rates and increase the average ticket price of purchases.
What Makes Brazilian Consumers Abandon an Online Purchase?
Abandoning a purchase is a frequent outcome for Brazilian consumers when key expectations aren’t met—including expectations about payments. In fact, 11% of Brazilian consumers point to limited payment options as a deciding factor in walking away from a purchase. Other important factors including expensive shipping, negative reviews, and complaints about the store, showing how both logistics and checkout experiences can directly interrupt the purchase journey.
Insight for cross-border stores: A poorly optimized checkout page or lack of local payment methods is a direct barrier to sales. To reduce abandonment, cross-border merchants should ensure transparent shipping policies, robust fraud protection, and a wide range of trusted payment options that inspire confidence in Brazilian consumers. Learn more about how to optimize your checkout out for the Brazilian market in our Guide to Local Payments.
How Can Cross-Border Stores Prepare for Black Friday in Brazil?
Winning over Brazilian consumers on Black Friday requires more than just offering discounts. As you’ve just seen, the market has its own characteristics, from payment preferences to high expectations around trust and convenience. To succeed, international merchants need a localized strategy that aligns with what shoppers truly value.
In this section, we complete our Black Friday guide by outlining four practical steps your cross-border e-commerce store can take to maximize sales, minimize cart abandonment, and build long-term trust with your Brazilian customers during one of the biggest retail events of the year.
1. Offer the Payment Methods Brazilians Love
Payment preferences in Brazil go beyond convenience—they’re often the deciding factor for completing a purchase. 12% of consumers highlight their preferred payment method as crucial when choosing where to shop, with 20% indicating that the ability to pay in installments is also an important factor.
With that in mind, it’s essential for cross-border e-commerce stores to provide the payment methods Brazilians already know and trust:
- Pix, an instant-payment method launched by the Central Bank of Brazil in 2020, has become the most popular payment method in Brazil due to its speed, ease of use, and trustworthiness. With PagBrasil Pix, cross-border merchants can accept this local favorite even more easily, ensuring frictionless payments from Brazilian shoppers and achieving conversion rates substantially higher than with Pix offered by other PSPs.
- Local credit cards with installments are another cornerstone of Brazilian e-commerce. As you’ve seen, consumers prioritize stores that offer the option of splitting purchases into multiple payments, making high-value items more accessible. What’s more, many Brazilians don’t have access to international credit cards, making local cards their only option for paying using credit. Fortunately, PagBrasil makes the process of accepting Brazilian credit cards easy by allowing you to accept payments from all major labels offered in the country.
- To simplify it all, PagBrasil Checkout—the evolution of the payment link—integrates Pix, local credit cards (with installment options), and other preferred methods like boleto (Brazilian bank slip) and digital wallets into one secure and easy-to-implement solution. PagBrasil’s intermediation model makes this simpler than ever by managing the entire payment and settlement process.
Insight for cross-border stores: Offering Pix, installment-enabled local credit cards, and other local methods isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential. By providing the methods Brazilians already know and trust, your store can increase conversion rates and reduce cart abandonment.
2. Build Trust with a Secure Checkout
Security concerns are one of the main reasons Brazilian consumers abandon their carts during Black Friday. To overcome this barrier, cross-border merchants need to demonstrate reliability at the checkout stage. That means clear communication, a familiar payment flow, and robust protection against fraud.
This is where PagShield®, PagBrasil’s advanced fraud prevention solution, comes in. Developed specifically for the Brazilian market, it uses intelligent risk analysis to block fraudulent credit card transactions while maximizing approval rates for legitimate buyers. The result: higher conversions, fewer chargebacks, and greater consumer confidence in your store.
Insight for cross-border stores: A secure checkout is not only about protecting your business—it’s about protecting your customers. By integrating localized anti-fraud technology like PagShield®, you send a clear message of trust that can make shoppers more comfortable completing their purchases.
3. Plan Your Pricing and Shipping Strategy in Advance
Shipping and pricing remain two of the biggest deal-breakers for Brazilian shoppers. Consumers are increasingly cautious and will only complete a purchase if they perceive real value.
To address this, merchants should:
- Offer competitive or subsidized shipping—for example, discounted shipping above a certain purchase value.
- Plan promotions strategically, ensuring discounts feel genuine and attractive compared to market expectations.
- Communicate shipping policies clearly, so there are no surprises at checkout. For the Brazilian market, this means translating them into Brazilian Portuguese so your consumers can easily understand.
- Offer local payment methods so customers are charged in BRL, avoiding unexpected currency conversions or additional fees at checkout.
Insight for cross-border stores: Pricing and shipping can make or break a sale. By planning ahead and making these conditions transparent, you not only increase conversion rates but also build long-term loyalty with Brazilian consumers who value fairness and clarity.
4. Communicate Through the Right Channels
Reaching Brazilian consumers requires being present where they look for offers and brand updates. According to the research, 43% prefer to receive promotions by email and 27% via WhatsApp. At the same time, 78% follow brands on Instagram, and 13% actually make purchases directly through social media.
Insight for cross-border stores: To maximize reach and conversions, your Black Friday strategy should combine email marketing for direct offers, WhatsApp for personalized communication, and social commerce for sales through platforms like Instagram, using solutions like PagBrasil Checkout to close the deal.
Be Ready to Win in Brazil This Black Friday
Brazilian Black Friday is more of a marathon than a single-day sprint. Consumers shop throughout the month, carefully weighing prices, shipping, trust, and payment options. For cross-border stores, success depends on offering familiar payment methods, securing checkout processes, planning competitive pricing and shipping, and communicating through the right channels.
PagBrasil can be your strategic partner in navigating this complex market. With solutions like PagBrasil Pix, PagBrasil Checkout, and PagShield, your store can maximize conversions, reduce cart abandonment, and build trust with Brazilian consumers.
Speak with one of our specialists to discover even more about how PagBrasil can help your business grow in the Brazilian market.
