MercadoLibre is the largest e-commerce platform in Latin America, processing over 4.8 billion in gross volume in 2011. The presentation discusses the big challenges MercadoLibre has faced over its history from 1999 to 2012, including complexity, innovation, being monochannel rather than multi-channel, and lack of personalization. Some of the lessons discussed are simplifying products and platforms, embracing mobile and social media, focusing on native apps, and designing for true virality to enable exponential growth. The presentation advocates for decoupling architecture, embracing third-party developers, and unlocking the potential of platforms like Facebook for e-commerce.

1. Lessons learned
in the largest e-commerce
platform in Latin America
Daniel Rabinovich
CTO
www.mercadolibre.com
@drabinovich
New York
Aug 6th, 2012

2. Who we are (1’)
MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) is the largest e-commerce platform
in Latin America, and one of the top 10 in the world (Comscore)
Some data (2011):
 13 countries - #1 in each country
 14MM buyers, 5MM sellers
 100K professional sellers (Nielsen)
 4.8BN gross volume
 53MM units sold
 1.3BN gross payment volume
 1600 employees

3. Big challenges
1999 2012
Complexity Innovation Monochannel Personalization
(Product) (Platform) (Mobile) (Social)

4. Substracting is harder than adding
Each separate part made sense, but the resulting product was too complex
Old version (1/5 scale) New version (1/5 scale)

5. Simple is Hard
Steve Jobs: “Don’t come back until you achieved a phone with only one button”
Simplify, simplify
Thoreau
Credit: Chris Nodder (N/N Group) and Rich Hickey (Clojure)

6. It takes more than just “Web Design”
In our case, it required a deep change in the business model
Old Optional Feature Fees New “Listing Types” allow cleaner results

7. Another “brilliant” idea
Revenue-induced features that harm user experience
Old version: paid pictures New version: all pics for free

8. Get out of the Monkey Trap

9. Re-think the pricing model
It was neccesary to fix revenue induced anti-patterns
Revenue streams
Business Units
Pricing Model

10. Big challenges
1999 2012
Complexity Innovation Monochannel Personalization
(Product) (Platform) (Mobile) (Social)

11. From a Website to a Platform
Our own properties must use the exact same API we’re sharing with 3rd parties
MELI Mobile Desktop 3rd Party Back
Properties Apps Apps WebApps Office
One common API

12. Decoupling is a great investment
Even in small teams, hard-decoupling enables sustainable growth

13. 3rd parties contributing to the ecosystem
New browsing options, back-end solutions, etc

14. Big challenges
1999 2012
Complexity Innovation Monochannel Personalization
(Product) (Platform) (Mobile) (Social)

15. Mobile is larger than desktop
Plus, accelerating migration to smartphones
Fuente: Business Insider

16. HTML5 is the future, but not the present
The greatest quality is achieved on native platforms

17. Fragmentation is your problem, not user’s
Generate a great product for all platforms. If you can’t, focus on one (Instagram)
Inhouse Via partners

18. An example: back button
Each platform has particular usability standards.

19. Mobile web as a landing
Sorted by its impact: transactional e-mails, Facebook, Google

20. Big challenges
1999 2012
Complexity Innovation Monochannel Personalization
(Product) (Platform) (Mobile) (Social)

21. Facebook is eating the web
But no e-commerce site has unlocked its potential yet
Source: Salesforce

22. Social circles influence purchasing decisions
It was always like this. Now we have the proper technology to take advangate of it.
Credit to Paul Adams (Facebook)

23. Special items for special circles
Intent is easier to capture, but not stronger than behavior

24. Activity Feed Integration
Custom verb “see” (a listing)

25. Timeline integration
“Seen listings” summary

26. Take advantage of the OpenGraph
A combination of FB social widgets and periodic aggregations

27. Social is different from Viral
“Chicken and egg” problem. Social products need connected users.
D = Clics A = Connections
Clics
per story per Clic
Viral Factor
Stories A*B*C *D Connections
C = Stories B = Publishers
per publisher Publishers per connection
Credit to Ed Baker (Facebook)

28. Growth can be exponential
It’s key to properly “close” the viral loop

29. Key takeaways
 This experience is for all websites, not only large ones.
 Simple is Hard: substracting is easier than adding.
 A/B testing is useless when evaluating dramatic changes.
 HTML5 is the future, not the present.
 Native apps deliver the best UX. Mobile web as a landing.
 Social apps are useless unless they are truly viral.
 Once virality is achieved, growth could be exponential

30. Lessons learned
in the largest e-commerce
platform in Latin America
Daniel Rabinovich
CTO
www.mercadolibre.com
@drabinovich
New York
Aug 6th, 2012