TRENDS & INSIGHTS
MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Spotlight on… e-commerce in Mexico
Mexico is expected to have almost 78 million e-commerce shoppers by 2025. And with almost half buying cross-border, now could be the time for European SMBs to explore the opportunity.
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Executive summary
Mexico is the secondlargest market in Latin America
with 78 million people set to be shopping online by 2025.
Some 45% of e-commerce customers in Mexico already buy cross-border
motivated by lower prices and unique products they can’t find at home.
Mexican e-commerce customers are mobile-first.
Two thirds of transactions in 2021 took place on mobile devices.
Mexico will soon introduce the Carta Porte
a new documentation requirement for shipments designed to formalise trade.
The e-commerce shoppers in Mexico are set to reach 78 million in 2025, up from an estimated 64 million in 2022 and 57.5 million in 2021.2
Mexico is the second-largest country in Latin America by population, and also its second-largest e-commerce market. And with its young population and comparatively low rate of e-commerce penetration, it has plenty of space to grow.
The number of e-commerce customers in Mexico is growing faster than in its larger neighbour, Brazil.1 The e-commerce shoppers in Mexico are set to reach 78 million in 2025, up from an estimated 64 million in 2022 and 57.5 million in 2021.2
A large proportion of those e-commerce customers are already buying from businesses outside Mexico. Almost half (45%) of Mexico’s e-commerce customers shop crossborder.1 Of those consumers, 57% said their reason for making cross-border purchases was to buy something unique that they couldn’t find in Mexico; while 48% said they considered prices to be lower from retailers outside of Mexico.3
Mobile commerce, in particular, is booming among Mexican consumers. Revenue growth is outpacing the wider e-commerce market and predicted to continue at a compound annual rate of 20% until 2023.4 What’s more, smartphone usage in Mexico is only around 50% of the population – a sign that there is potential for more growth in this market.4
Population5
130m
Average age5
29
Internet penetration1
71%
The e-commerce opportunity in Mexico
$46.5bn
The estimated e-commerce revenue in Mexico in 20226
$96.8bn
The estimated size of the e-commerce market in Mexico in 20243
16
Mexico is the 16th largest e-commerce market in the world7
The top product categories in e-commerce in Mexico in 20203
1. Food delivery
66%
2. Fashion
57%
3. Beauty and personal care
52%
4. Electronics
46%
5. Appliance
43%
45%
Some 45% of e-commerce customers in Mexico buy cross border1
$28.5bn
The estimated mobile e-commerce revenue in Mexico in 20234
Three more things to consider:
Adopt a mobile-first strategy
E-commerce consumers in Mexico are predominantly smartphone users. In fact, in 2021 an estimated 65% of e-commerce transactions were mobile3, so ensuring your website is well optimised for mobile could be key if you are thinking about entering this market. You could even consider developing an app: mobile e-commerce transactions in Mexico are slightly more likely to take place in apps than on a mobile browsers, according to JP Morgan figures.4
Consider conversational commerce
Mexico is also a strong market for the emerging conversational commerce trend – selling via chat apps such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. According to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report, conversational commerce is set to account for 20% of the overall e-commerce market by 2025.8 It has the potential to increase order value by as much as 3.9 times.8 Plus, it helps to target new customers who may never have shopped online before; BCG found 40% of c-commerce customers in emerging markets were making their first digital purchase.8
Localise website content
Spanish is the primary language in Mexico, spoken by 94% of the population.5 Investing in professional translation for your website content service could help you to reach a wider base of customers there. According to one survey, 40% of global consumers won’t buy from websites in other languages.9 You may even want to consider hiring Spanish speaking employees to handle marketing content and customer service queries from Mexican customers. This could be a good investment if you are considering further moves into Latin America at a later date: Spanish is the main language in many other growing markets in the region, including Argentina and Colombia.
Mexico’s Carta Porte supplement
From 30 September 2022, Mexico will introduce new documentation requirements for all shipments into, out of or within the country. The Carta Porte must include details of the shipment’s origin, destination and the type of goods being transported. The measures are part of an attempt to formalise trade as well as curb criminal activity, such as cargo theft and tax evasion. The Carta Porte will provide and international benchmark for all businesses inside and out of Mexico that want to import and export goods.
You can find more information about the documentation you need to ship to Mexico here.
Disclaimer: The information provided on this page does not constitute legal, tax, finance, accounting, or trade advice, but is designed to provide general information relating to business and commerce. The FedEx Small Business Hub content, information, and services are not a substitute for obtaining the advice of a competent professional, for example a licensed attorney, law firm, accountant, or financial adviser.
Sources
1. Mexico: The cross-border e-commerce opportunity | Global E, March 2021
2. Number of e-commerce users in Mexico from 2017 to 2025 | Statista, Nov 2021
3. Mexico’s ecommerce data | Americas Market Intelligence, Nov 2021
4. 2020 E-commerce Payments Trends Report: Mexico | JP Morgan, 2020
5. CIA World Factbook: Mexico
6. E-commerce Mexico | Statista, 2022
7. The e-commerce market in Mexico | ecommerceDB, 2021
8. Conversational Commerce Report | Yalo, 2021
9. Can’t read, won’t buy – B2C | CSA Research
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