São Paulo – Purchases of consumer goods on the Internet in Brazil last year totalled 8.2 billion Brazilian reals (US$ 3.5 billion). There was an increase of 30% over the previous year and electronic commerce should continue to grow in 2009. The figures were culled from the WebShoppers survey, conducted by e-bit with support from the Brazilian Chamber of e-Commerce.
The survey shows that 13 million Brazilians made at least one purchase on the Internet last year. The expected growth rate in financial volume traded, for 2009, ranges from 20% to 25%. The scenario is regarded as positive, as there should be an expansion despite the world crisis.
The average price per sale in 2008 was 328 reals (US$ 143) and Christmas was the holiday that generated the highest turnover for e-commerce. In the first half of 2009, according to estimates, e-commerce should generate a turnover of around 4.5 billion reals (US$ 1.9 billion). The figure represents an increase of 800 million reals (US$ 350 million) compared with the first six months of last year.
By the end of the first half of this year, the number of people making purchases on the Web is expected to rise to 15 million, especially due to the growing share of women, who already answer to more than 50% of virtual consumers.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
