Today, the largest e-commerce market in Latin America is Brazil, but when it comes to long-term potential for cross-border merchants, Mexico is the market to watch. Though cross-border commerce is low compared to Brazil, Mexico’s e-commerce market is growing at a rate of over 21%, nearly double the global average.

1. COUNTRY SPOTLIGHT: UNDERSTANDING CONSUMERS
AND CROSS-BORDER E-COMMERCE IN MEXICO

2. MEXICO
Today, the largest e-commerce market in Latin America is
Brazil, but when it comes to long-term potential for cross-
border merchants, Mexico is the market to watch. Though
cross-border commerce is low compared to Brazil, Mexico’s
e-commerce market is growing at a rate of over 21%, nearly
double the global average.

3. ECONOMY
The second-most populous country in Latin America,
Mexico’s inclusion as a member of NAFTA means its
economy is strongly linked to the U.S. economy. With the
11th largest GDP in the world by purchasing power parity,
Mexico is in a unique position as a global power with a
consumer population relatively untapped by outside
commercial investment.

4. A CLOSER LOOK
Let’s take a closer look at Mexican consumers and the benefits
to retailers investing in cross-border e-commerce.
Unless otherwise noted, figures in this article are sourced from:
 ATKearney; 2016: The Tipping Point for E-Commerce in
Mexico
 The Paypers; Mobile commerce and online shopper
behaviour in Mexico

5. MEXICAN CONSUMERS
Population: 120 million
Internet penetration: 54%
Mobile penetration: 37%
Online shoppers: 16 million
E-commerce sales: USD 11 billion
E-commerce annual growth rate: 21%

6. LATIN AMERICA
Behind only Asia-Pacific, Latin America is the
region with the fastest-growing e-commerce
market. Mexico currently accounts for 12.3% of
the regional market, a value of $11 billion USD,
or 2.5% of Mexico’s total retail sales.

7. ONLINE POPULATION
Though internet penetration is relatively low at 54%, Mexico’s still
has the world’s eighth-largest online population with 65 million
people. However, only a quarter of active internet users have a fixed
broadband service in their home, so access to e-commerce has been
historically limited. Because of this, Mexico has the lowest
percentage of digital buyers in Latin America (only 22% of the online
population).

8. INTERNET USAGE
Today, internet usage is rising rapidly due in part to the falling
cost of smartphones. With over half the population under the age
of 30, more and more young people will enter the consumer
market over the next 15 years.This demographic is also expected
to spend more time online and is more comfortable with e-
commerce than the previous generation.

9. RETAIL INDUSTRY
Mexico’s retail industry is driven by local payment options. Credit
card penetration is low (only 24%) with most consumers preferring
debit cards, averaging 3.8 debit cards per household. Most local
debit cards can’t be used for online transactions, so credit cards are
still the most common online payment methods. However, prepaid
cards, direct debit services and e-wallets also hold a significant
share of the market.

10. E-COMMERCEGROWTH
Economic and political concerns are still holding back e-commerce
growth in Mexico. Even though the economy is stronger now than
any time in the past decade, many still try to limit household
spending. The current political climate in the U.S., with whom
Mexico shares its largest border, contributes to this unease, as the
American government’s recent threats to pull out of NAFTA could
have serious and unforeseen economic consequences.

11. DRIVERS AND BARRIERS

12. DRIVER: LOW COMPETITION
It’s fair to say that cross-border e-commerce in Mexico is in its
infancy. Only one-third of consumers having ordered something
from abroad, yet more than half of consumers have said they plan
to purchase from retailers outside of Mexico. In part, this disparity is
due to the relatively low international investment in the Mexican e-
commerce market. Cross-border merchants who expand their
services into Mexico will find relatively little competition for the
attention of consumers.

13. BARRIER: INTERNET CONNECTIVITY
Due to historically low internet connectivity, much of Mexico’s
population has had limited access to e-commerce. Combine this
with more recent economic and political turmoil, and you’re left with
relatively low public trust in online transactions. With most
households still lacking a dedicated broadband connection, e-
commerce penetration remains the lowest in Latin America.

14. DRIVER: MOBILE COMMERCE
More than half of Mexico’s population is under 30. With smartphones
now more affordable than ever, most of these people are entering the
workforce with a full-time internet connection in their pocket. Mobile
commerce has allowed Mexico’s younger demographic to jump straight
to m-commerce, which in 2015 recorded a growth of 40% and will
continue to grow as more young people enter the consumer
population. If you plan to enter the Mexican e-commerce market,
having a mobile commerce plan is highly recommended.

15. BARRIER: SECURITY CONCERNS
A long history of organized crime and limited access to broadband
connections has led much of the Mexican population to be skeptical of online
transactions. This is often cited as the primary reason why the country’s
credit card penetration rate is the lowest in Latin America. Debit cards and
Oxxo payment vouchers are seen to be safer, but in most cases cannot be
used to make online purchases. Mexicans are particular about which
payment methods they’re comfortable with and more than half of them will
abandon a shopping cart if it does not offer their preferred payment method.

16. MEXICAN E-COMMERCE FACTS
 The second-largest market for e-commerce in Latin America.
 The eighth-largest online population in the world.
 Android is the preferred smartphone operating system, accounting for 83% of smartphones.
 Facebook is the dominant social network, used by over 70% of internet users.
 Digital advertising in Mexico has nearly double the average click-through rate (0.23%) as in the U.S.
(0.09%).
 30% of internet users own a tablet, the highest adoption in Latin America.
 The top destination by far for overseas e-commerce is the U.S., with 87% of cross-border sales.

17. AMERICAN RETAILERS
Some large American retailers have begun to turn their heads to
Mexico’s e-commerce market, with Walmart increasing their
infrastructure in Latin American and Amazon recently offering its
Prime subscription service to users of Spanish-
language Amazon.com.mx. But the demand for cross-border e-
commerce among Mexico consumers is still greater than the
supply.

18. FINALTHOUGHTS
Local incumbent e-tailer MercadoLibre holds the largest share of the
Mexican e-commerce market, but that only represented 9.5% in 2016,
so there are no large domestic providers that have a firm grip on the
market.With an increasingly young and connected population
benefiting from a recovering economy and getting their first taste of
disposable income, Mexico’s cross-border e-commerce market is full of
potential.

19. Expanding into a new international market is a risky venture but a very rewarding one if done right. For the latest
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