--- title: The future of e-commerce in Latin America in 2020 - BoaCompra description: BoaCompra helps international businesses access local payments in Latin America and is fully integrated with PagSeguro/PagBank's ecosystem. image: https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/AFs_Banner-Blog-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) Payments The future of e-commerce in Latin America in 2020 BoaCompra helps international businesses access local payments in Latin America and is fully integrated with PagSeguro/PagBank's ecosystem. ![The future of e-commerce in Latin America in 2020](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/AFs_Banner-Blog-1.jpg) January 15, 2020 Given this promising scenario, will the Latin American region become the golden pot at the end of the rainbow? It’s an undeniable fact that e-commerce in Latin America is witnessing a steady growth.  During 2019, the region had a sales growth rate of [21.3%](https://www.emarketer.com/content/global-ecommerce-2019), slightly above the worldwide average of [20.7%](https://www.emarketer.com/content/global-ecommerce-2019).  To these encouraging numbers, there are to add two significant drivers:  [430 million](https://www.statista.com/statistics/249562/number-of-worldwide-internet-users-by-region/) internet users (Central & South America), [155.5 million](https://www.statista.com/statistics/251657/number-of-digital-buyers-in-latin-america/) digital buyers,  and a social media penetration rate of [64%](https://www.statista.com/statistics/269615/social-network-penetration-by-region/) (Central & South America average). ### **The expected evolution of LATAM’s e-commerce market** For the next years, experts expect Latin America to continue on the growth path, as they foresee an increase in e-commerce sales: ![](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/AFs_Tabela_01-1.jpg) Of particular note are cross-borders spending numbers, considering that traditionally Latin Americans prefer domestic online retailers. When it comes to targeting the e-markets of this fragmented region, growth is the common denominator. Overall, Brazil is Latin American’s leading market, ranked [#9](https://www.focus-economics.com/blog/the-largest-economies-in-the-world) in the world’s biggest economies for 2020, with [2.5%](https://www.focus-economics.com/blog/the-largest-economies-in-the-world) GDP growth and USD [2.201](https://www.focus-economics.com/blog/the-largest-economies-in-the-world) trillion GDP, according to Focus Economic forecast. And this leadership extends to e-commerce. But Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru are also standing out, as the performance indicators reveal: ![](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/AFs_Tabela_02-1.png) ### **What are the main markets sowing for 2020?** Given the performance of the above set of leading markets, estimates released for 2020 and beyond seem to confirm that e-commerce will thrive: ![](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/AFs_Tabela_03-1.jpg) ### **M-commerce will boost the market** Considering that Latin America is the leading region with a [36.03%](https://www.emarketer.com/content/latin-america-ecommerce-2019)  m-commerce sales growth in 2019, above the worldwide average of [27.5%](https://www.emarketer.com/content/latin-america-ecommerce-2019),  the social media usage and the expected smartphone penetration rate of [71%](https://www.statista.com/statistics/218531/latin-american-smartphone-penetration-since-2008/) in 2020, m-commerce is the driver that will boost Latin American e-commerce. Another business opportunity lies within the increasing cross-border spending, not only for retailers but also for payment aggregators due to the role of local payment methods in Latin American countries. ### **Challenges to address in 2020** As encouraging as the projections are, merchants will have to overcome some [challenges](https://blog.boacompra.com/why-partnering-with-a-local-expert-will-leverage-your-success-in-latam/) common to the markets in this region: - Improving online payment security - Offering local payment solutions and alternative payments, due low banking penetration rates - Adapting to the internet infrastructure - Handling with local finances  polices and bureaucracy - Dealing with cultural preferences and local traditions Although the e-commerce market growth is a foreseen reality for the Latin American countries, it remains the fact that this is a fragmented region – different cultures and traditions, specific characteristics and challenges. A local expert such as [BoaCompra](https://boacompra.com/en) is a key partner that will help companies unveil each market’s 2020 forecast report. ![](https://static.hsstatic.net/BlogImporterAssetsUI/ex/missing-image.png) Get in touch with us to learn how BoaCompra can help your company expand to this promising market: [![Nova call to action](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/bbdb23ba-8406-4ab5-a402-236db38e1c8e-May-30-2022-03-06-01-26-PM.png?width=738&height=170&name=bbdb23ba-8406-4ab5-a402-236db38e1c8e-May-30-2022-03-06-01-26-PM.png)](https://insights.boacompra.com/cs/c/?cta_guid=f7a5d64b-d444-404f-a20e-5e27390fd541&signature=AAH58kG-fS4ZLZiyohkQiDB0dCSUiLvfIg&placement_guid=f506e882-1e88-473c-9189-5cb96e5ca25b&canon=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.boacompra.com%2Fthe-future-of-e-commerce-in-latin-america-in-2020%2F&portal_id=19718165) [![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) [The evolution of Colombian e-commerce ](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/the-evolution-of-colombian-e-commerce) [![](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/the-evolution-of-colombian-e-commerce) [Alternative Payments Are Shaping E-Commerce in LATAM ](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/alternative-payments-are-shaping-e-commerce-in-latam) [![](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/alternative-payments-are-shaping-e-commerce-in-latam) Related Content ![6 top payment trends in LATAM for 2021](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Banner-01-Blog-Tend%C3%AAncias-de-pagamento2-1.jpg) [Payments](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/tag/payments) March 3, 2021 ### [6 top payment trends in LATAM for 2021](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/6-top-payment-trends-in-latam-for-2021) BoaCompra helps international businesses access local payments in Latin America and is fully integrated with PagSeguro/PagBank's ecosystem. ![Skyrocket your WooCommerce sales in LATAM with local payment options](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/BoaCompra-LinkedIn-e-Blog-Banners_03_Banner-03-Blog-Aumente-as-vendas-da-1-1.jpg) [Payments](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/tag/payments) April 19, 2021 ### [Skyrocket your WooCommerce sales in LATAM with local payment options](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/woocommerce-sales-in-latam-with-local-payment-options) BoaCompra helps international businesses access local payments in Latin America and is fully integrated with PagSeguro/PagBank's ecosystem. ![3-steps strategy to start selling in LATAM](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Banner-04-Blog-3-passos-para-1.jpg) [Payments](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/tag/payments) June 17, 2021 ### [3-steps strategy to start selling in LATAM](https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/3-steps-strategy-to-start-selling-in-latam) BoaCompra helps international businesses access local payments in Latin America and is fully integrated with PagSeguro/PagBank's ecosystem. ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "PagSeguro Team", "url" : "https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/author/pagseguro-team" }, "dateModified" : "2022-05-30T15:07:46.882Z", "datePublished" : "2020-01-15T03:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "The future of e-commerce in Latin America in 2020 - BoaCompra", "image" : [ "https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/AFs_Banner-Blog-1.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.international.pagseguro.com/en/the-future-of-e-commerce-in-latin-america-in-2020", "@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" } } ```