Uruguay has a privileged climate and fertile territory, and is home to the port of Montevideo, the only free trade port on the Atlantic coast of South America. With its superior geographical location and natural environment, Uruguay has become one of the world's top ten exporters of products, and the development prospects of e-commerce are broad!
LM123 learned that Euromonitor survey data shows that Uruguayan e-commerce sales increased by 36% in 2020 to 10.9 billion Uruguayan pesos, and is expected to reach 34.3 billion Uruguayan pesos in 2025, with a good growth trend.
So is Uruguay another fertile land for e-commerce in Latin America that needs to be reclaimed?
Overview of the e-commerce market
First, the e-commerce market is growing rapidly
According to the Uruguayan National Institute of Statistics, Uruguay's total population in 2019 was about 3.519 million. Although the population is small, Uruguay has a well-developed education industry, its citizens have an average education level that exceeds that of other Latin American countries, the overall level of education is high, and it is more likely to accept Internet services and e-shopping.
Meanwhile, in 2020, Uruguay's per capita GDP ranked first in Latin America at $15,778, ranking 44th in the world (China ranked 70th in the same year). And Uruguay's middle class is huge, and the per capita consumption capacity can be seen.
According to CEDU data, 6 out of 10 Uruguayans buy products on the Internet and make purchases several times a year. The groups that have purchased the most in the past 12 months are Monteverde, men, people under the age of 45 and people with medium to high purchasing power.
▲Image from: International Monetary Fund IMF; World Bank; National statistical offices
2. Shopping preferences of Uruguayan consumers
LM123 learned that the number of online shoppers in the Uruguay region continues to grow. According to a CEDU survey, 34 percent of respondents said that since the pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of online purchases, with most items being purchased online. In addition, 43% of respondents said they would continue to shop online.
Meanwhile, in the last 12 months, Among them, Uruguayan consumers have the largest demand for foreign online shopping sites such as clothing, footwear, accessories, electronics, household goods, toys and so on.
Uruguayan consumers are attracted to buy online for the following reasons:
a. Online shopping is convenient;
b. Easy to obtain goods at a more favorable price;
c. High-quality experience covers quality service.
In addition, LM123 understands that therefore, the existing e-commerce market size in Uruguay can only be said to be the tip of the iceberg of its potential scale, and there is still a large potential to tap in the future.
Third, the cross-border market ushered in development opportunities
1. High Internet penetration
At present, Uruguay's online business environment has ranked at the leading level in Latin America. As a 5G leader in Latin America, Uruguay will also offer nationwide Fttp coverage in 2022.
At the same time, LM123 understands that Uruguay attaches great importance to fiber optic infrastructure, which accounts for about 70% of residential fixed broadband connections and almost all commercial connections.
2. The financial system is perfect
LM123 learned that Uruguay's financial system is perfect, with good bank secrecy and reliability. dLocal, in particular, is Uruguay's first unicorn with a company valuation of more than $1.2 billion.
dLocal has developed a large-scale cross-border payment processing platform that has partnered with more than 450 e-commerce stores, online travel agencies and Saas companies to serve more than 2 billion customers, covering Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. At the same time, it provides users with more than 300 payment methods, making it easier for buyers to pay.
3. Attach importance to investment cooperation with the mainland
E-commerce has provided a series of convenient and favorable conditions for Uruguayan enterprises to enter the mainland market, and cross-border e-commerce has become an important way to promote the growth of trade between China and Ukraine.
LM123 learned that JD Global Purchase has reached a strategic cooperative relationship with Zonamerica Xunmeiya, a well-known Uruguayan enterprise, and Xunmeiya has opened an official flagship store of "Taste of Latin America" on the JD Global Shopping Platform, building a new trade channel between mainland consumers and Latin America. Bring domestic consumers handicrafts, exquisite clothing, cosmetics, high-quality food and other rich specialty products, so that domestic consumers can feel the enthusiasm, unique culture and customs from Latin America without leaving home.
Fourth, the policy is good to help sellers go to sea
LM123 has learned that China and Uzbekistan mutually recognize the "certified operators" (hereinafter referred to as "AEO enterprises") of each other's customs to facilitate customs clearance for the import and export goods of AEO enterprises of both sides.
After the mutual recognition of AEOs between China and Ukraine, AEO enterprises with trade with Uruguay will enjoy a number of preferential measures in the country:
- Apply a lower document review rate;
- Reducing the inspection rate of imported and exported goods;
- Priority inspection of goods for physical inspection;
- Designate a customs liaison officer to communicate and solve problems encountered in customs clearance;
- Priority will be given to customs clearance after the interruption of international trade is resumed.
The above advantages will help AEO enterprises greatly compress the customs clearance time of goods, minimize the trade costs of ports, insurance, logistics and other trade costs, and enhance international competitiveness.
In summary, as an e-commerce potential stock in Latin America, Uruguay has a high Internet penetration rate, strong citizens' consumption ability, and good trade exchanges with China, for Chinese sellers, Uruguay is undoubtedly a fertile land for e-commerce that needs to be reclaimed.