E-commerce in Colombia: 51.4% of Internet Users Make Weekly Online Purchases

Consumption in Colombia was influenced by the changes resulting from the pandemic, the policies to restrict them, and the increase in internet use. During the years 2021 and 2022, the economic recovery was the main determinant, and a phenomenon that had become even more popular during the confinement, grew rapidly during that recovery. All this allowed the adoption of e-commerce in Colombia to increase to the point that many became regular consumers of this business model.

Weekly online purchases increased by 51.4%, figures that agree with most of the projections on the growth of this particular item to January 2023.

This has been the growth of e-commerce in Colombia during the last year:

The Digital 2023 study, carried out by ‘We Are Social’ and ‘Hootsuite’, explains each of the variations that have been seen in the online consumer environment and the main trends that could continue for the rest of the year.

At least 26.1% regularly ordered fresh products, 17.4% used an online price comparison service, another 10.9% bought second-hand, and at least 7.0% used buy now pay later services.

Purchasing Motivators and Favorite Categories

The main reasons for buying online are the following:

• Free shipping, at 57.6%
• Quick and easy online payment, by 42.1%
• Delivery the next day, in 41.6%
• Coupons and discounts, by 38.7%
• Reviews from other customers, by 32.9%

Most popular categories:

• Electronics, with 3.81 billion dollars
• Fashion, which grossed $2.27 billion
• Toys, which grossed $1.18 billion.

Other notable categories were: personal care, food, beverage, and physical media.

Payment Methods

Regarding the most used payment methods in this digital world, five stand out: credit and debit cards, at 51%; bank transfers, by 18%; digital and mobile wallets, by 13%; payment against delivery, at 9%; and other methods, in a similar percentage (9%).

At this point, it is necessary to comment that the number of people who make digital payments has reached 26.20 million, which represents an increase of 3.2% compared to last year (2022). Meanwhile, their annual value reached 11.69 billion, which translates into an increase of 12.5%.

“Electronic commerce continues to position itself as a great driver of the economy, presenting sales of close to USD 5.7 billion at a global level, according to Statista. 2022 was a year full of work that motivated the development and strengthening of the digital ecosystem in Colombia. We hope to continue collaborating as a union so that e-commerce is a door of opportunities for all Colombians, a channel in which they can trust, build businesses and take their proposals to new markets.” – María Fernanda Quiñones