The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the already dynamic expansion of e-commerce in Colombia, and this trend continued in 2021. Growth in the banked population and the diversification of payment methods, as well as an incremental trust in the logic of online purchases, have allowed e-commerce to grow rapidly in recent years.
The dramatic rise in demand through e-commerce during the COVID-19 crisis resulted in considerable challenges, with companies being forced to transform their logistical capacities and strengthen their technological infrastructures. With online shopping booming, companies needed to strengthen the capacity of servers to avoid downed sites or virtual lines.
Online operations played a key role in retailers’ efforts to survive the dramatically changed market conditions seen during the COVID-19 crisis, with those that did not already have online platforms deciding to develop them quickly or form partnerships with intermediary companies such as Linio and Amazon or last mile operators. Linio, Argentine online marketplace, Mercado Libre, and Brazil-based fashion site, Dafiti, are three of the strongest players in e-commerce in Colombia.
The COVID-19 crisis has significantly expanded the number of retailers offering e-commerce and led to more convenient and efficient services. In addition, it has expanded the consumer base of online shoppers and encouraged established users of e-commerce to increase the range and frequency of their online purchases.
In Colombia a part of the population remains unbanked and still relies on cash for payments. The lack of e-commerce payment solutions for these consumers alienate a critical mass of potential consumers.
Social media usage is quite widespread in Colombia, and since the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic we observe such platforms increasingly being used by companies not only to display products, but also to direct consumers to the company e-commerce site to finalise the purchase of the specific product, usually via a link right underneath a post. As such, social media platforms have become part of the transactional model between companies and customers.
Delivery:
Files are delivered directly into your account soon after payment is received and any tax is certification is verified (where applicable).
This report comes in PDF with additional info in Excel included.
Understand the latest market trends and future growth opportunities for the E-Commerce (Goods) industry in Colombia with research from Euromonitor International's team of in-country analysts – experts by industry and geographic specialisation.
Key trends are clearly and succinctly summarised alongside the most current research data available. Understand and assess competitive threats and plan corporate strategy with our qualitative analysis, insight and confident growth projections.
If you're in the E-Commerce (Goods) industry in Colombia, our research will help you to make informed, intelligent decisions; to recognise and profit from opportunity, or to offer resilience amidst market uncertainty.
Sales of consumer goods to the general public via the Internet. Please note that this includes sales through mobile phones and tablets (i.e. m-commerce). E-commerce includes sales generated through pure e-commerce websites and through sites operated by store-based retailers. Sales data is attributed to the country where the consumer is based, rather than where the retailer is based. The definition of e-commerce is agnostic as to where actual payment takes place; if an order is initiated online, it is considered to be an e-commerce transaction, even if the order is ultimately paid for in-store (or elsewhere). As a result, all ‘click-and-collect’ and ‘collect-at-store’ transactions are counted as e-commerce sales. E-commerce excludes sales of: (a) Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) and business-to-business (B2B) sales, although please note that sales between businesses and consumers (i.e. B2C sales) on sites such as eBay are included; (b) Sales of motor vehicles, motorcycles and vehicle parts; (c) Tickets for events (sports, music concerts, etc.) and travel; (d) Sales of travel and holiday packages; (e) Revenue generated by online gambling sites; (f) Returned products/unpaid invoices; and (h) Internet sales from direct selling companies, as these are tracked in Direct Selling market size/shares. Example e-commerce brands include Amazon.com, Zappos.com, Apple.com, iTunes, Rakuten, Tesco.com, Dell.com, Coles Online, etc. 3rd Party Merchant sales through online marketplaces, such as Amazon.com, eBay.com and Walmart.com, are included and split out in shares. 3rd party merchants are the summation of sales that come from businesses that are present on an online marketplace (e.g. Amazon, Alibaba). Marketplaces are websites that allow multiple merchants to sell on the marketplace website, with the marketplace operator processing the transactions, but many marketplaces provide offer other services as to help with shipping, handling, payment, and product storage. The marketplace is not the merchant of record legally, but for the sake of shares, sales from 3rd part merchants are attributed to the marketplace brand operator.
See All of Our DefinitionsThis report originates from Passport, our E-Commerce (Goods) research and analysis database.
If you purchase a report that is updated in the next 60 days, we will send you the new edition and data extraction Free!