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The South American Enigma

by robbyst
3 replies
E-commerce cannot be compared to other fields when talking about the Americas. Even though it is still called the third world when refering to South America, how are the developed countries going to keep a significant growing rate when they have almost reached their peak? On the the other hand South America has still all the potential to grow.
#american #enigma #south
  • Profile picture of the author sevenish
    Originally Posted by robbyst View Post

    E-commerce cannot be compared to other fields when talking about the Americas. Even though it is still called the third world when refering to South America, how are the developed countries going to keep a significant growing rate when they have almost reached their peak? On the the other hand South America has still all the potential to grow.
    Yes and no. South America has a smaller population who do transactions online for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the time it takes for a tangible consumer product to reach a consumer. In the case of ordering a product from Amazon, even with overnight shipping, it can take a significant period of time to clear necessary customs. Then there's an issue with the standards of the local postal offices and courier services. Last year I "overnighted" a package to Ecuador, thinking it might take 2 weeks or so. It was received by the post office 4 weeks later and finally found 2 weeks after its arrival.

    Don't get me wrong, I love South America. But they are not yet accustomed to the "lightning fast convenience" of e-commerce to a significant degree. Hopefully the availability of digital products will be embraced and eventually eclipse the customers' experience with sluggish postal and courier issues that are further compounded by customs issues.

    Further, in many of what I would call 2nd world areas, broadband is uncommon for consumers as well as businesses.

    The infrastructure is just not there yet, be it internet connectivity or facility to receive tangible goods in a timely manner.
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  • Profile picture of the author TrudyB
    Thanks sevenish, I was interested in this as well...
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    • Profile picture of the author cassidywilliams
      I lived in Panama for a year, Costa Rica for one more. Latin America is growing so fast its not even funny. While currently the internet penetration rates are just above 10%, this is changing fast. The economies are growing like crazy. The population of Latin America is huge.

      So whoever goes in now has a hell of an advantage before all the others that will react when the market is big and saturated already.
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