Seizing the beachhead in Colombia, opening a new chapter of cross-border expansion
Bogota, capital of Colombia, has a population of 52.16 million and an Internet penetration rate of 75.7%. In 2022, its GDP was 342.9 billion US dollars, making it the fourth largest economy in Latin America. Remarkably, while the market is still expanding, Latin America’s e-commerce growth rate is already ahead of the world. As an important force in Latin America and even the global e-commerce market, Colombia also has great development potential in the field of e-commerce in the future.
Global e-commerce market overview
Source: eMarketer; Customs Directorate
Last year, China’s exports to Colombia reached US $15.6 billion, an increase of 8.8% year-on-year. With the steady growth of Colombia’s economy and the deepening of bilateral trade between China and Colombia, the prospect of going to sea in Colombia will be more and more optimistic.
Overview of Colombia Cross-border E-commerce Market: Undervalued Blue Ocean
According to a report released by the Colombia E-commerce Association (CCCE), Colombia’s e-commerce sales rose an astonishing 38.4 percent year-on-year in 2022, totaling more than $11.4 billion, ranking fourth in Latin America. This significant growth was mainly driven by the epidemic, with 86% of 26.19 million e-commerce users saying they would continue to spend through e-commerce channels after the epidemic.
Proportion of online Internet users in Colombia
Source: Statista;RetailX
In addition, Colombia e-commerce per capita annual consumption is also high, even more than Brazil and Mexico.
Annual consumption per capita of e-commerce in Latin America
Source: RetailX
E-commerce has become an accelerator of local retail growth. This is also related to the popularity of social media in the region in recent years. According to the survey, social media penetration in Colombia is as high as 81.3%,59% of users say they are very willing to try social media shopping, and 20% of users have placed orders based on recommendations from people. The real use experience and evaluation on the mobile Internet also gives Colombia the soil and space for e-commerce development.
Mainstream e-commerce platform in Colombia: American customers are mostly the biggest players
Mercado Libre is king in Colombia’s e-commerce market. According to semrush statistics, Meikeduo dominated Colombia’s e-commerce market with an average of 34.4 million visits per month in 2022, three times as many as the second-ranked shopping site. In addition, Falabella and Dafiti have also made efforts to optimize service levels in Colombia this year.
Top 3 Online Markets in Colombia
Source: SimilarWeb
Colombia consumer portrait: young population dominates
In Colombia’s e-commerce market, the population aged 18-34 is the largest consumer group. Nearly half of consumers are aged 34 or younger, with female consumers dominating. According to the survey, 59% of female users prefer online shopping compared to men, especially women aged 25-44, who are more likely to buy fashion, home and care products online, while men are more inclined to buy electronic and sports products online.
Age distribution of e-commerce consumers in Colombia
Source: Statista
Main payment method in Colombia: online payment increased
Digital wallet penetration in Colombia is not high, and many people rely on cash on delivery and bank transfers. After the epidemic, the proportion of cash payments began to decline gradually, and online payment methods quickly changed consumers ‘payment habits by virtue of their convenience and speed.
Colombia Online Shopping Preferred Payment Methods
Source: WorldPayFIS
Among them, voucher payment Via Baloto is very popular in Colombia. This method does not support non-payment. The service penetration rate exceeds 85%, covering more than 1100 cities in Colombia.
Pagos Seguros en Línea, an online banking transfer tool, provides credit card-free online shopping payment services, covering more than ten mainstream banks in Colombia. It has been widely accepted and used after PayPal withdrew from the market, greatly improving the payment experience of consumers and having great advantages in the field of e-commerce payment in Colombia.
Shenzhen Evergrande Lntl. Logistics Special Line: Helping Brand Latin American Nuggets
Colombia is located in the northwest of South America, with the only Pacific coast port in South America. Air transportation is convenient and low cost, providing unique advantages for cross-border e-commerce freight transportation. However, the main mode of freight transportation in Colombia is road transportation. Due to the late start of e-commerce industry, many road networks are not perfect, which restricts the further development of e-commerce to a certain extent.
Shenzhen Evergrande Lntl. Logistics Colombia dedicated line integrates high-quality sea resources, continuously optimizes collection, transportation and customs clearance timeliness, effectively reduces delivery delay rate, and provides customers with more affordable logistics costs.
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