Online Shopping Grows Slowly in Brazil
Brazil has clearly embraced the online universe, with one in every three people having access to the Internet. But that figure is not translating into online luxury sales for social and economic reasons.
“The market is still very much on the initial phase of development,” says Carlos Ferreirinha, the founder of the luxury brand marketing agency MCF Consultoria & Conhecimento, based in São Paulo. He expects the country’s online luxury industry to come of age in two to three years: “By 2014 we will have something strong.”
But, he noted, for that to happen the country’s Internet infrastructure will have to catch up with demand. Most of the population still uses DSL landline connections, which are slow and do not operate well for more advanced uses like video download and real-time game-playing.
Another consideration is the cost of shipping luxury goods from the United States or Europe, as well as the customs duties, which sometimes can exceed the price of the purchase.
The good news for e-retailing is that a large portion of those sales are coming from Brazilians younger than 30. Sixty percent of the country’s population is younger than 29. And, of course, younger Brazilians are the most Internet-savvy sector, spending an average of nine hours a day on Web-related activities, according to MCF.
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More: ny times
