RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Small and medium-sized Brazilian companies (SMEs) earned more than R$1 billion (US$192) in e-commerce in the first six months of the year, according to a survey by Nuvemshop, a digital sales platform.
The total amount is more than double that of the same period in 2020, when SMEs billed about R$428 (US$82) million.
The study analyzes the number of resources moved by companies within the Nuvemshop platform. The good results can also be seen in the number of products sold in the digital environment.
According to the survey, orders increased from 9.3 million in the first half of 2020 to more than 20 million in the same period of 2021.
Clearly, progress in vaccination and the reopening of physical stores were not enough to slow down digital sales, which have become a solid business strategy and are the most viable alternative to keep small businesses running.
“In addition to the people who already had the habit of buying products online, we estimate that more than 3 million Brazilians bought online for the first time in this first half of the year. This proves that there really has been a change in consumer habits and that it is here to stay,” says Alejandro Vázquez, CCO and co-founder of Nuvemshop.
According to the study, São Paulo has maintained its position as the state with the highest turnover of e-commerce entrepreneurs in the country. In this first half of the year alone, small and medium entrepreneurs in the state have turned over more than R$347.4 million. It is followed by Minas Gerais, with R$106 million, and Rio de Janeiro, with R$87.7 million.
DIGITAL CHANNELS
In the first half of the year, 73% of online sales were made through cell phones, while 26% were made through computers.
The average purchase price has also increased, from R$213 in 2020 to R$218 in 2021. “For the next semester, we believe that the figures will continue to increase, mainly because we will have commercial dates that are important for e-commerce, such as Black Friday and Christmas,” says Vásquez.