The ‘Focus on...’ series is a range of articles based on our global research from the Oban Digital Labs. Each report has a specific focus on cultural drivers and preferences that may affect web design and usability choices. This month we look at the Mexican web landscape, to reveal a range of fascinating insights that could leverage your web presence in this unique market.

1. Oban Digital: Focus on Mexico

2. Oban Digital: Focus on Mexico
The ‘Focus on...’ series is a range of articles based on our
global research from the Oban Digital Labs. Each report
has a specific focus on cultural drivers and preferences
that may affect web design and usability choices. This
month we look at the Mexican web landscape, to reveal
a range of fascinating insights that could leverage your
web presence in this unique market.

3. Oban Digital: Focus on Mexico
Demographics
• The official language in Mexico is Spanish
• Close to 90% of the population is Catholic
• According to official statistics, by 2013 about a third of the population had internet
connection at home. Furthermore, roughly 43.5% of the population (aged 6 years or more)
are regular users of internet and this has consistently increased during the last decade
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Internet Users in Mexico (%)
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Figure 1: Percentage of internet users in Mexico (from the total population)

4. Oban Digital: Focus on Mexico
E-commerce
• E-commerce has rapidly increased in the last few years. The estimated YOY growth from
2012 to 2013 was 42%, according to a report by the Internet Mexican Association (AMIPCI)
• The AMIPCI’s report shows that one of the most important periods for e-commerce in
Mexico is at the end of the year (November-December). This period coincides with Day of the
Dead, Catholic celebrations and New Year
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Products and Services (%)
2011
2012
2013
Figure 2: Types of products and services users obtain online

5. Oban Digital: Focus on Mexico
• The AMIPCI indicates that 37% of internet users have bought something through Internet
as well
 In Figure 2 we can see that some of the biggest sectors are transport (flights/coach)
and music and films, followed by clothes, accessories, computers and software
• Regarding the consumers’ profile, the AMIPCI revealed that buyers prefer to pay online
using credit cards
 In addition, online sales seem to benefit when free deliveries and discounts are
offered to consumers
 More importantly, as way to transmit trust to the consumer, websites often show
the email of the company, have an https site and a contact phone number

6. Oban Digital: Focus on Mexico
Online growth issues
• Personal data privacy and consumer trust are the principal challenges of e-commerce in
Mexico. Users who do not buy online have stated uncertainty or fear of purchasing online.
This is due to concerns around personal details, card information and product or service
delivery
• In addition, Mexico has one of the slowest internet connections of the 34 members of the
OCDE – this also includes mobile broadband

7. Oban Digital: Focus on Mexico
Web design
• There is significant scope for improving e-commerce websites in Mexico. Sites for small
and medium businesses tend to have a poor design, with outdated information and broken
links. Without doubt, there is a clear opportunity to improve services and call to the appeal
of users
Figure 3: A timber cutting business (left) and a glassware business.

8. Oban Digital: Focus on Mexico
• However, in the case of well-known and long established companies, websites tend to
include lots of multimedia and graphics. A large proportion of the page is covered with
offers and colourful images
 Although this design might seem appealing to the end user, it has some clear
drawbacks; since users' internet connection will be generally slow, graphics will
take a long time to download
 In addition, multimedia elements (which tend to be on the centre of the page)
are usually a source of distraction and may hinder a user’s search and selection of
products

9. Oban Digital: Focus on Mexico
Figure 4: Multimedia graphics in three well-known businesses in Mexico

10. Oban Digital: Focus on Mexico
• Educational sites, on the other hand, have minimal graphics, but present a large
amount of text to the user – which does not facilitate a user’s search for information.
Moreover, images often present high power figures, large buildings and give emphasis
to groups of people rather than individuals
Figure 5: A timber cutting business (left) and a glassware business

11. Oban Digital: Focus on Mexico
• According to Hofstede, Mexican society has a high hierarchical organisation and has
preference to avoid uncertainty.
•Websites with poor design will be less likely to be trusted (see Figure 3), whereas
educational or government sites which are perceived trustworthy will usually feature
images of people with high status
• When it comes to the use of colour on websites a study by Yokosawa et al. indicates
that Mexican people do not have a preference for cool over warm colours. However,
research did show that some individuals disliked dark yellow, but not dark orange