F. Watty
Research Expert E-commerce
Online marketplaces in Mexico - statistics and facts
Every year, more Mexicans are shopping online, and the world is noticing it. Mexican consumers’ growing preference for e-commerce makes it an attractive destination for foreign companies to expand their operations. Temu is the latest major marketplace to land in the Latin American country, creating an instant impact on the e-commerce landscape. The retail giant joins a market led by Amazon and Mercado Libre that is expected to continue welcoming new consumers. However, these online marketplaces are not alone in their quest to win the hearts of Mexican shoppers.
On the other hand, pure e-commerce players are not willing to let omnichannel retailers take the lead in the digital world so easily. Argentine marketplace Mercado Libre continues to increase its investment in Mexico, committing almost 2.5 billion US dollars in 2024. Major pure player Amazon has built a solid delivery process that allows the company to cover every state in the country and offer more than 600 million products on its marketplace. These well-established retailers continue working to increase their share in a market that keeps evolving.
With different approaches to meet the demand of Mexican consumers and new players joining the market, the clash of online marketplaces in Mexico has only just begun.
Omnichannel vs. pure players
Faced with new competitors, traditional retailers have innovated and developed an omnichannel strategy to reach their customers and cope with the threat pure players represent. Walmart, a retailer widely known by Mexicans, adapted to new shopping preferences, strengthening its online presence around the world. Its global domain, walmart.com, achieved worldwide net sales of more than 70 billion U.S. Dollars in 2024. In Mexico, its marketplace gross merchandise volume (GMV) enjoyed double-digit year-over-year growth during each of the first three quarters of 2024. For its part, El Puerto de Liverpool has established itself as a top retailer among online marketplaces, especially in the fashion sector, where its conversion rate exceeded 65 percent in 2023. These companies are among the group of traditional retailers that migrated to an omnichannel strategy to meet the needs of shoppers.On the other hand, pure e-commerce players are not willing to let omnichannel retailers take the lead in the digital world so easily. Argentine marketplace Mercado Libre continues to increase its investment in Mexico, committing almost 2.5 billion US dollars in 2024. Major pure player Amazon has built a solid delivery process that allows the company to cover every state in the country and offer more than 600 million products on its marketplace. These well-established retailers continue working to increase their share in a market that keeps evolving.
The big marketplaces from the east
Asian marketplaces have gained greater relevance in Mexico over the past decade. Shein managed to establish itself as one of the favorite options for online shoppers since its first shipments to the country in 2017. Temu, which just launched its online marketplace in the North American country in May 2023, quickly impacted the e-commerce market, reaching an estimated GMV of more than 200 million U.S. dollars during its first year of operations.With different approaches to meet the demand of Mexican consumers and new players joining the market, the clash of online marketplaces in Mexico has only just begun.
