Keys to Understanding Argentina’s E-Commerce Market

Strategic insights for financial services and e-commerce professionals

Andreas Farge

Director – E-Commerce And Payment Methods Specialist

According to OECD, Argentina’s GDP is expected to contract by 1.3% during 2023—although a modest recovery of 1.1% is projected for 2024.

Yet e-commerce continues to boom. The Cámara Argentina de Comercio Electrónico (CACE) broke down recent numbers:

• E-commerce grew by 87% in 2022 in Argentina, on top of 68% growth in 2021 and 124% growth in 2020
• In 2022 Argentina gained 1,085,540 new shoppers to build a current total of 21.8 million e-commerce consumers in the country
• 15% of Argentina e-shoppers purchase a product daily

Below we highlight some key data from PCMI’s 2023 E-Commerce Data Library and other sources in order to offer financial services, marketing and ecommerce professionals an understanding of Argentina’s e-commerce market in 2023.

2023 Growth Forecast for E-Commerce in Argentina

Driven by our proprietary methodology (which includes transactional data to maximize accuracy), PCMI analysts share CACE’s robust view of e-commerce in Argentina. E-commerce in Argentina will grow by 26% in 2023, according to PCMI projections.

PCMI further forecasts that Argentina’s e-commerce market will grow with a CAGR of 22% between 2023 and 2026 to reach a total volume of US$51.1 billion.

While this overall picture is important, focusing on the consumer behavior delivers a deeper understanding of the market drivers.

How They Buy

According to PCMI’s E-commerce Data Library, the primary payment methods that will be used by e-commerce shoppers in Argentina in 2023 are:

• Domestic-only credit card: 35%
• Digital wallet: 23%
• Internationally-enabled credit card: 19%
• Debit card: 15%
• Cash vouchers: 2%
• Bank transfers: 2%
• Buy Bow Pay Later: 1%

CACE’s data regarding payment methods differs from PCMI’s, as does its methodology, which employs a shopper survey:

• Credit card: 52%
• Debit card: 38%
• Digital wallet: 22%
• Transfer: 18%
• Cash (using Pago Fácil or Rapi Pago): 8%
• Cash (upon delivery or upon pickup of product): 8%

Another key aspect of the purchase process is the device used. According to PCMI:

• 31% of Argentines make e-commerce purchases using a desktop
• 69% of Argentines make e-commerce purchases using a mobile device

Historical data from PCMI (included with the purchase of to PCMI’s E-commerce Data Library for one country or multiple countries) shows that the percentages were inverted in 2018, with 69% of purchases being made with a desktop and 31% with a mobile device.

CACE data indicates that 40% of Argentines use desktop PCs and 55% use mobile devices when buying online. CACE further indicates that Argentines tend to use mobile devices to buy sportswear, beauty products, tickets to events/shows and footwear, while they tend to use desktops to purchase travel tickets, tickets to events and sportswear.

What They Buy

According to the CACE, the top products purchased by e-commerce in Argentina are:

1. Clothing
2. Sportswear and sporting goods
3. Tickets to shows and events
4. Travel tickets and tourism
5. Cell phones and accessories
6. Food and beverages
7. Transportation
8. Audiovisual content and software
9. Classes, seminars, etc.
10. Beauty/personal care products

But that is based on survey data of customers. When the CACE surveyed its members (primarily ecommerce merchants), these were the product categories reported to have the highest sales:

1. Travel tickets and tourism
2. Food, beverage and cleaning products
3. Audio equipment, consoles, IT and telephony
4. Home décor (furniture, decorations)
5. Appliances (white and brown lines)
6. Sports (not specified if this means sporting goods, sportswear or something else)
7. Clothing (non-sportswear)
8. Perfume and cosmetics
9. Auto accessories
10. Products for children (not specified what this entails)

What They Do

CACE’s survey data is helpful to understand e-commerce consumer behavior/preferences in Argentina, such as:

• 28% of Argentina ecommerce shoppers made in-app purchases in 2022
• Top onsite motivators to buy include product variety (35%), competitive pricing (32%) and visible prices (31%)
• 55% of Argentina’s ecommerce shoppers are repeat buyers: they had already made a purchase from the site they last bought from
• 33% of Argentine ecommerce shoppers engaged in cross-border e-commerce in 2022, compared to 38% in 2021
• 98% of Argentina ecommerce shoppers are satisfied with their shopping experience
• 8 of 10 Argentine ecommerce shoppers searched for online information to make offline purchases

Go Further

While the data shared here can be helpful, both payments companies and ecommerce companies may benefit from a deeper dive into Argentina’s e-commerce data, which they can obtain by acquiring the PCMI E-commerce Data Library for Latin America.

The Library covers not only Argentina but also 14 other countries in Latin America, featuring e-commerce market data such as:

• Historical volume of Argentina’s e-commerce market for 2022, 2021 and further back
• Projections of Argentina’s e-commerce market volume for 2023-2026
• Breakdowns by merchant vertical for e-commerce in Argentina: retail, travel, ride-hailing, digital goods and services like streaming
• Data on both cross-border and domestic e-commerce purchases in Argentina for 2022 and projections for 2023 and beyond
• Breakdowns and projections of payment methods used in Argentina e-commerce (international/domestic credit cards, Buy Now Pay Later, digital wallets, Pix and others

And much more.

But other key advantages make the PCMI E-commerce Data Library for Latin America a uniquely powerful tool for companies that seek a fuller understanding of e-commerce in the region:

1. It’s customizable to client needs: you can obtain additional data you need for your company’s specific business concerns, beyond what the Library offers
2. It’s budget-friendly: while detailed reports are available for 15 Latin American countries, you can just buy data on just 1 or save money by purchasing a country bundle
3. It includes personalized guidance: every purchase of the Library entitles you to a free 1-hour consultation about the data with one of PCMI’s industry experts
4. It offers unlimited sharing: there is no single-user license with the PCMI E-commerce Data Library for Latin America, so you can share it freely with your organization

Next Steps

Contact us to find out more about what the Library offers, how we can customize it to your needs and how you can purchase it.