In Latin America, Apparel & Accessories and Computer Electronics Rank as Top Product Categories Among Online Buyers

Comscore Releases 2012 Latin America E-commerce Study Revealing Key Insights into Today’s Online Shopper

Santiago, Chile, September 10, 2012 - Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its 2012 Latin America E-commerce Study. The study, which surveyed nearly 1,100 respondents in Latin America, looked at online shopping and buying activity across Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela, as well as online travel behavior and mobile activity. The study found that online shoppers were most likely to start the shopping process directly from a retailer’s website or via keyword search. Apparel & Accessories ranked as the most popular retail product category, with 43 percent of Latin American online shoppers having purchased these items online within the past three months.

To learn more about this study and how to obtain the full study results, please contact your Comscore representative or email learnmore@comscore.com

Brand Awareness and Loyalty are Keys to Driving Online Purchase
Analysis of how Latin Americans begin their online shopping experience found that nearly 7 in 10 shoppers directly navigate to the retailer’s website, highlighting the importance of brand recognition and loyalty for retailers in the region. More than half of online shoppers (56 percent) said they typically begin the shopping process through keyword searches, while 36 percent started shopping via an online advertisement.

Question: How do you typically start your online shopping process? Select all that apply. (Among online shoppers)
N = 1,098
July 5, 2012 – July 12, 2012
Source: Comscore 2012 Latin America E-commerce Study

Percent of Latin America Online Shoppers

Go directly to retailer's website

68%

Keyword search on a search engine

56%

Through an online advertisement

36%

Referral from friends/colleagues/family

29%

Social network

26%

Comparison shopping

26%

Online Auctions

26%

From offline advertising

25%

Via coupon or promotion

21%

Specific market insights revealed that online shoppers in Brazil were more likely to begin their shopping process via comparison shopping sites and online ads compared to the rest of the region, while Peruvians were more likely to use social networks and offline ads to begin their process.

Apparel & Accessories and Computer Electronics Rank as Top Online Purchase Categories
Among online shoppers in Latin America, 43 percent of respondents indicated they had purchased apparel or accessories online in the past three months, ranking it as the top retail category. Computer electronics ranked second with 41 percent of online shoppers purchasing these items online, while 36 percent of shoppers purchased music, movies or videos. Appliances ranked as the fourth most popular purchased category (35 percent), while 1 in 3 consumers purchased computer hardware online.

Question: In the past 3 months, what items have you purchased online? Select all that apply. (Among online shoppers)
N = 1,098
July 5, 2012 – July 12, 2012
Source: Comscore 2012 Latin America E-commerce Study

Percent of Latin America Online Shoppers

Apparel & accessories

43%

Computer electronics

41%

Music, movies or videos

36%

Appliances

35%

Computer hardware

33%

Entertainment tickets

31%

Vacation/travel

27%

Health & beauty care

24%

Books and magazines

24%

Sport & fitness

15%

Other key findings from the 2012 Latin America E-commerce Study include:

  • Local retailers’ websites are most preferred in Argentina, Brazil and Chile, while consumers in Mexico and Venezuela are more likely to prefer international retail sites.
  • Online shoppers in Argentina are the most engaged in the region, with nearly half of Argentines performing shopping-related activities online almost daily.
  • Online spending was highest among respondents from Brazil and Venezuela.
  • Convenience ranked as the top reason consumers chose to shop online in Latin America, while security and privacy concerns were the top barriers to online shopping.
  • Among online shoppers in Latin America, 8 in 10 have searched the Internet for at least one travel-related product in the past three months.

Study Methodology

A sample of 1,098 online consumers participated in the survey that was fielded online from July 5 to July 12, 2012. The survey was conducted in seven countries in Latin America including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. The survey was conducted in Spanish and Portuguese.

To learn more about this study and how to obtain the full study results, please contact your Comscore representative or email learnmore@comscore.com

About Comscore

Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.

Contact:
Ana Laura Zain
Sr. Manager, Corporate Marketing, EMEA
Comscore, Inc.
+44 20 3111 1730
worldpress@comscore.com