The internet has become a huge part of our lives and continues to transform the way we interact with other people, access information and even how we shop. The web is a borderless world and the e-commerce market benefits greatly from this lack of borders. It has never been easier for merchants to reach new markets around the globe. Whether they sell via mobile app, social media, website, over the phone, channel partners or affiliates, today’s technologies in payments and e-commerce solutions have reduced the complexities of selling cross-border.
However, businesses who decide to tackle new markets must bear in mind that adapting is essential for survival. A deep knowledge of the market and strategic partnerships are crucial to grant businesses success and maximum return on investment.
Selling Cross-Border to Brazil
Brazil is an obvious target for merchants who wish to expand their operations cross-border. The country leads the e-commerce in Latin America, representing 42% of the industry’s revenue in the region. It is an outstanding opportunity:
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- Population of 207 million
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- 140 million internet users
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- ¼ of the population buys online
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- 21 million consumers shop cross-border
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- E-commerce growth of 8% in 2017 and estimated growth of 12% for 2018
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- Continuous e-commerce growth, even during the recent economic recession
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- 92% of Brazilian households have at least one mobile device
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- 63% internet penetration
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- 60% exclusively connect via mobile devices
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- M-commerce represents 31% of e-commerce transactions
- 94 million online shoppers forecasted by 2021
So why aren’t more businesses selling cross-border to Brazil? International merchants who decide to expand to new markets often try to apply a business model that works elsewhere to their operations in Brazil, without bothering to understand the country’s particularities. This often leads to disastrous results and merchants end up giving up on the market.
Success in the Brazilian e-commerce market can be harnessed by adapting to changes in the local economy, leveraging existing technologies and through simple collaboration with local players. For instance, merchants can build a great product, have the best marketing, but if they neglect to offer local payment methods, such as installment payments, boleto bancário or domestic credit cards, they can end up having up to 80% of the payments rejected.
A local payment provider, such as PagBrasil, can help merchants understand the market to more easily adapt to its needs. In addition, PagBrasil focuses on developing innovative payment solutions to insure its clients’ success in Brazil. Other than offering the widest range of local payment methods, PagBrasil has developed the exclusive Boleto Flash®. The payment option was created to overcome the two biggest problems of the traditional boleto bancário: the delay of days in the payment confirmation and its static layout. Because of that, Boleto Flash® is the only boleto in the country that issues confirmation in less than two hours, in addition to having a responsive design that facilitates payments via mobile devices.
For more information about the particularities of the Brazilian market, contact us.