Analysis of characteristics of Chilean cross-border e-commerce consumers

High penetration rate of social media

As of June 2019, Chile had 13 million active social media users, with a social media penetration rate of 71%. 68% of these users access social networks every day. Facebook has 12.3 million users in Chile, 51% of whom are women, and more than 70% of users are between the ages of 18 and 44. The most popular social networks in Chile include Facebook (68.31%), YouTube (13.46%), Pinterest (9.6%), Twitter (5.53%), Instagram (2%) and Tumblr (0.67%).

Various online shopping categories

Chilean consumers tend to buy technology products such as TVs, mobile phones and video games online. In addition, clothing, shoes and travel-related products are also popular choices for them. According to data from the Chilean Digital Foundation, 27% of Chilean people purchased goods or services online in 2018. Although Chileans shop year-round, seasonal sales or major shopping festivals are the periods when the amount of online shopping increases the most.

AliExpress becomes the preferred online shopping platform for Chileans

The influence of foreign e-commerce in the Chilean market exceeds that of local e-commerce. Although Chile’s local e-commerce platforms are gradually developing, foreign e-commerce companies such as Amazon, eBay, and especially AliExpress are growing faster. During Cyber ​​Monday 2018, AliExpress’s sales in Chile were four times that of Amazon, accounting for 12% and 3% of the market respectively. Chilean consumers have shown strong interest in Chinese products, and Chinese electronic products such as smartphones, data cables, and tablet computers are very popular. In addition, shoes and clothing, especially sportswear, are also hot sellers.

Shifting from traditional supermarket shopping to online shopping

A report released by the Chilean National Statistics Institute (INE) shows that Chileans go shopping in supermarkets an average of 4.3 times a month, spending about 18,000 pesos each time. However, Chileans shop on Cornershop, an online retail platform, 4.4 times a month, 0.1 percentage points higher than in physical stores. This shows that more and more Chilean consumers are turning to online shopping.

Chilean local payment Redcompra becomes the first choice for online shopping payment

In Chile, online shopping payment methods mainly include cash, credit card and debit card payment. The Redcompra payment system was launched in 2001 by Transbank S.A. After customers choose Redcompra to pay, they will jump to the bank list page and complete the payment process through their commonly used banks. This payment method is favored by 35% of Chilean online shoppers because of its convenience and security. Redcompra payment supports 15 major banks in Chile, and users only need to enter a PIN code to complete the transaction.