eCommerce in Colombia has improved substantially within the last few years. As of 2023, there are 39.34 million internet users in Colombia, about 75.7% of the country’s population, ranking fourth for number of internet users in Latin America. The COVID-19 pandemic compelled people worldwide to shift numerous daily activities into the virtual sphere. In Colombia, millions of individuals who previously favored in-person shopping and payments abruptly transferred these tasks to online platforms. In 2022, the country boasted over 26 million online buyers, accounting for nearly three-quarters of its internet-using population. That year, Colombia ranked as the third-largest eCommerce market in Latin America, trailing only giants Brazil and Mexico.
Table 1: Colombia’s eCommerce as a Percentage of Annual GDP
|
Year |
eCommerce as a Percentage of Annual GDP |
|
2018 |
1.9 |
|
2019 |
2.1 |
|
2020 |
2.8 |
|
2021 |
3.6 |
Source: Statistica
Colombia’s eCommerce market is expected to grow with a 9.2 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2023 to 2027 (Statista Digital Market Outlook), presenting new opportunities for businesses and consumers. Increased accessibility to web services through smartphones and greater availability of online services are driving growth in Colombia’s eCommerce. Despite business-to-business eCommerce becoming more common, it is constrained by poor infrastructure, especially highways that connect to seaports, complicating supply chains.
According to ecommerceDB, exito.com is the leading eCommerce player in Colombia, generating over USD 134.3 million in revenue in 2022. Next is alkosto.com with USD 129 million, and homecenter.com.co with USD 99.3 million. The electronics & media market is the largest, accounting for 29.9 percent of the Colombian eCommerce revenue. It is followed by fashion at 25.1 percent, toys, hobby & DIY at 18 percent, furniture & appliances at 17.7 percent, and food & personal care at 9.4 percent.
Colombians’ preferred payment method in 2022 was credit card, followed by bank transfers, and digital wallets. Cash on delivery (CoD) remains an important payment option over bank transfers. Colombian company Coordinadora is the most frequently offered delivery service provider among online stores. Servientrega and Envía (also Colombian companies) are among the top three shipping service companies offered by online retailers in Colombia.
Social media is widely used by eCommerce websites in Colombia as a communication tool to reach customers and position brands. According to the Digital 2021 Statista Report, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram are the most-used social media platforms in Colombia.
Entering the Colombian eCommerce market presents a variety of challenges. These include navigating local regulations, dealing with local payment methods such as credit cards, bank account debits, cash on delivery, and digital payment systems, as well as grappling with poor internal transport networks that are often underdeveloped and unable to meet demand, leading to high costs and delays in supply chains. Furthermore, low national connectivity coverage, low consumer confidence in digital transactions, increased costs and delayed deliveries in eCommerce logistics, and limited access to the financial system are all factors that contribute to these challenges.
In December 2020, the National Council for Economic and Social Policy (CONPES) approved the National Policy for Electronic Commerce (Conpes No. 4012 de 2020 PDF). This policy aims to promote strategies so that more companies and citizens adopt electronic commerce as a common and safe practice and generate improvements in the value chain to increase efficiency and an institutional framework that promotes and supports innovation. This strategy fosters eCommerce in companies and the general public to increase social and economic value generation.
The main statutory provisions in Colombia for eCommerce are in Law No. 527 of 1999 (the “eCommerce Law”), Decree No. 333 of 2014, and Decree No. 2364 of 2012. The eCommerce law regulates information generated, transmitted, received, or stored through electronic, optical, or other similar means, such as electronic data interchange (EDI), the internet, and email. The law also regulates other issues in connection with eCommerce.
On April 18, 2016, Colombia’s electronic invoicing model officially came into effect. This new model is defined by Decree 2242 of 2015, which seeks to expand the use of electronic invoices in Colombia, bringing the benefits expected by DIAN (Colombia’s National Tax and Customs Directorate) both for those who invoice electronically and for those who acquire goods and receive electronic documents, facilitating the conditions of issuance and interoperability among all participants.
In Colombia, intellectual property rights (IPR) laws do not provide adequate protection at international standards. The IPR regulatory regime for eCommerce in Colombia falls under the Copyright Law 23 of 1982; Decision 351 of 1991; Cartagena Agreement, decree 162 of 1996; and Trademark Rules Decision 486 of the Cartagena Agreement.
For additional information, including market analysis, trade events, and the products and services that the U.S. Commercial Service can provide to help you succeed in the Colombian market, please contact:
U.S. Embassy Bogota
Rafael Jiménez
Commercial Specialist
U.S. Commercial Service Bogotá
+57 (313) 275-2764
https://www.trade.gov/colombia