Retail e-commerce in Brazil more than doubled to **185 billion reais ($34.

5 billion)** in 2023 from **70 billion reais** in 2018, while the average order value increased from **435 reais** to **470 reais** during the same period, according to the Brazilian Electronic Commerce Association.

In Brazil, perfumery and cosmetics had the most online orders in 2023, followed by home and decor, health and food, and beverages.

Electronics represented **31%** of total e-commerce revenue in 2023, according to ECBD, a Brazil-based analysis firm, followed by fashion at **27%**, hobby and leisure at **14%**, and furniture and homeware at **11%**.

Mercado Livre holds a dominant e-commerce position in Brazil.

It was the most trafficked retail website in March, with over **216 million visits**, followed by Amazon, Shopee, OLX, and AliExpress.

All of these are marketplaces.

Amazon.

com in the U.

S.

received **3.

15 billion visits** in March.

In Q1 2024, about **16%** of total retail sales in Brazil came from digital channels—apps, sites, and email.

This is comparable to the U.

S.

, where e-commerce in Q1 was **23%** of total retail sales.

A 2024 study commissioned by Alibaba showed that cross-border e-commerce represented a mere **0.

5%** of total retail sales in Brazil, likely due to the difficulty of doing business there.

Despite consumer demand for phones, brand-name clothing, and baby gear, among other goods, it is expensive and difficult to get things into the country.

“Doing business in Brazil requires in-depth knowledge of the local environment, including the high direct and indirect costs of doing business,” according to the U.

S.

International Trade Administration.

Regulators have for years attempted to enact reforms but continue to face complex tax schemes, restrictive labor laws, and vexing import barriers.

These hurdles have collectively restricted access to international goods, prompting many Brazilians to shop abroad.

Last year, Brazilian lawmakers created a tax exemption for online purchases of **$50 or less** from international sellers, but pushback from domestic merchants may result in its revocation, replaced by a **20% fee**.

Purchases above **$50** are already subject to a **60% tax**.

Brazilian logistics are an e-commerce barrier, with the world's fifth-largest country, most of which is rainforest.

There aren’t enough roads, maintenance is poor, and ports have limited capacity.

Cargo theft is a problem.

Despite the challenges, the country has excelled in modernizing payments.

In 2020, the Brazilian Central Bank introduced Pix, a real-time payments system requiring only an email address, phone number, or local ID—no bank account needed.

By 2023, Pix represented **41%** of all retail transactions—online and in-store—followed by credit cards at **15%** and debit cards at **13%**.

Buy-now-pay-later services are also popular.

Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America, representing **57%** of e-commerce sales with projected growth of about **14% annually through 2026**, according to Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence, a global research firm.

The growth was bolstered by the pandemic, forcing Brazilians who didn’t fully trust the web to shop online.

However, Brazil remains among the most unequal countries, with the bottom **40%** of families earning less in 2021 than in 2016, per the World Bank.

Fewer jobs, persistent inflation, and a drop in government support could limit e-commerce growth, at least for the medium term.

**Copyright © 2005-2024.

Practical Ecommerce® is a registered trademark of Confluence Distribution, Inc.

**