--- title: Colombia soon to be the fourth largest e-commerce in LATAM - BoaCompra description: Internet connectivity and the increase of banking accounts among Colombians must boost online retail in the country in 64% until 2022. image: https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/banner-colombia-soon-to-be-1.jpg --- [![PagSeguro_logo-332x41_CS_blog](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hs-fs/hubfs/PagSeguro_logo-332x41_CS_blog.png?width=220&height=31&name=PagSeguro_logo-332x41_CS_blog.png "PagSeguro_logo-332x41_CS_blog")](https://international.pagseguro.com) E-commerce Colombia soon to be the fourth largest e-commerce in LATAM Internet connectivity and the increase of banking accounts among Colombians must boost online retail in the country in 64% until 2022. ![Colombia soon to be the fourth largest e-commerce in LATAM](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/banner-colombia-soon-to-be-1.jpg) June 8, 2018 Colombia has been working hard to increase exponentially its economic growth and position itself as one of the four Latin American countries with the most significant e-commerce, alongside [Brazil](https://boacompra.com/en/blog/brazil-how-to-reach-more-consumers-in-the-4th-largest-internet-users-market), [Mexico](https://boacompra.com/en/blog/mexico---latin-americas-prodigy-with-the-fastest-ecommerce-growth) and [Argentina](https://boacompra.com/en/blog/digital-market---argentina-expects-a-growth-of-24-until-2021). Only in 2017, [30.3 million](https://www.observatorioecommerce.com.co/banda-ancha-colombia/) internet connections were registered in the country during the last quarter of the year, an increase of 6.4% compared to the previous quarter. Another key element for ecommerce’s advance is the number of transactions made via smartphones. In the fourth quarter of 2017, 23.9 million mobile connections were registered as reported by the Ministry of Information Technology and Communication ([Ministerio de Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones – MinTIC](http://www.mintic.gov.co/portal/604/w3-channel.html)). According to the 4th [study of Digital Transactions in Colombia 2016-2017](https://www.observatorioecommerce.com.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/4to-Estudio-de-Transacciones-Digitales-en-Colombia-2016-2017.pdf), carried out by MinTIC, the Electronic Chamber of Commerce of Colombia ([Cámara Colombiana de Comercio Electrónico – CCEE)](https://www.ccce.org.co/) and the National Academic Network of Advanced Technology ([Red Nacional Académica de Tecnología Avanzada – RENATA](https://www.renata.edu.co/)), [87.8 million](https://www.ccce.org.co/noticias/en-el-2017-las-transacciones-digitales-en-colombia-aumentaron-24-con-respecto-al-2016) online transactions were carried out last year, moving $ 51.2 billion pesos ([US$ 17.8 million](https://www.modaes.com/entorno/los-colombianos-hacen-clic-el-ecommerce-crece-un-241-en-2017.html)) in electronic transactions. With more connected shoppers, e-commerce market expands and opens a sea of possibilities especially when the country registers a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 912.6 billion pesos. From this amount, e-commerce represented almost 2% of GDP in 2017. Undoubtedly, there are two central points  that  should continue receiving attention to maintain the segment’s growth : internet connectivity and banking accounts  with  credit/debit  cards. According to the [MinTIC](http://www.mintic.gov.co/portal/604/w3-channel.html) study, it is possible to observe how, in a short time, the segment has gained relevance among Colombian shoppers: the acquisition of products and services over the internet, between 2014 and 2017, has multiplied more than five times. To illustrate how significant this growth is: Colombians spend much more time connected to financial consultations or transactions, paying for services and selling products. Almost 30% of population  is already buying online and doing so through smartphones, for example. Regarding the sales made via [desktop](https://ccce.org.co/noticias/vistas-sitios-web-de-ecommerce-en-colombia-aumentaron-35-en-2017-versus-2016), the categories of greater relevance were Fashion, supermarket and baby & kids, that increased 48%, 165% and 119%, respectively. **What you should know ****a****bout**** Colombia** With an estimated population of 50 million (which ranks 28th in the world), Colombia is the [third-most populous](http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/colombia-population/) country in all of Latin America. It’s home to the third-largest number of Spanish-speaking people in the world after Mexico and the United States. The largest city and capital of Colombia is Bogota, with a population of 7.9 million and which greater metropolitan area has a population of 12 million. In order to take advantage of this potential market, a partner with local expertise is crucial. With BoaCompra, local payments can be processed easily and assured by safety protocols, no bureaucracy and your business can also: - Accept payment options in local currency; - Accept more than 14 different local payment methods; - Sell in Colombia without a local bank account or company registration and get paid anywhere in the world; - Integrate services across all markets served by BoaCompra without any additional cross-border surcharges. [![Nova call to action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/19718165/85b040b9-d37f-462c-9f2b-32a74c988579.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/19718165/85b040b9-d37f-462c-9f2b-32a74c988579) [Which payment methods are most popular in Peru? ](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/which-payment-methods-are-most-popular-in-peru) [![](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/lemonade/images/post-navigation-btn.png?height=131&name=post-navigation-btn.png) ](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/which-payment-methods-are-most-popular-in-peru) [Summer Steam Sale 2018 is around the corner ](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/summer-steam-sale-2018-is-around-the-corner) [![](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/lemonade/images/post-navigation-btn.png?height=131&name=post-navigation-btn.png) ](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/summer-steam-sale-2018-is-around-the-corner) Related Content ![5 key e-commerce trends from NRF 2025](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/1736793413870%20(1).jpg) [E-commerce](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/tag/e-commerce) January 22, 2025 ### [5 key e-commerce trends from NRF 2025](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/5-key-e-commerce-trends-from-nrf-2025) From AI to omnichannel, we dive into the key trends from the major retail event and how they converse with cross-border online merchants. ![E-Commerce in Colombia Shows Promising Growth by 2022](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/blog-linkedin-colombia-1.jpg) [E-commerce](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/tag/e-commerce) September 4, 2019 ### [E-Commerce in Colombia Shows Promising Growth by 2022](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/colombias-e-commerce-continues-to-show-a-promising-growth) The efforts that Colombia has been making to generate economic growth are paying off. There has also been a sharp and promising rise in e-commerce sales. ![The future of e-commerce in Latin America in 2019 and beyond](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/blog-linkedin-futureecommerce-1.jpg) [E-commerce](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/tag/e-commerce) December 21, 2018 ### [The future of e-commerce in Latin America in 2019 and beyond](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/the-future-of-e-commerce-in-latin-america-in-2019-and-beyond) Are you wondering what the future holds for international platforms conducting business in Latin America, one of the top regions in the world for e-commerce growth? We take a closer look at the challenges and opportunities of e-commerce in LATAM. ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "PagSeguro Team", "url" : "https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/author/pagseguro-team" }, "dateModified" : "2022-05-30T15:06:37.738Z", "datePublished" : "2018-06-08T03:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Colombia soon to be the fourth largest e-commerce in LATAM - BoaCompra", "image" : [ "https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/banner-colombia-soon-to-be-1.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/colombia-soon-to-be-the-fourth-largest-e-commerce-in-latam", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/BC_PAGS_logoanimado-169x30-2.gif" }, "name" : "PagSeguro Tecnologia Ltda" } } ```