RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Online sales of the commerce sector in Chile accelerated in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to the third quarter, with a real annual increase of 25.5%, in line with the overall positive results of the sector, the National Chamber of Commerce (CNN) reported on Thursday. Thus, digital sales in the sector accumulated a real annual increase of 41% between January and December last year.
When analyzing by month, October stood out as a result of Cyberday, which achieved an annual increase of 119.1%. November registered an annual decrease of 13% due to the high base of comparison when Cyberday was held in 2020 in that month, and finally, December, which marked a real annual increase of 9.1%. Compared to the previous quarter, online retail sales were up 31.1% year-on-year, mainly influenced by the October promotions.
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“Last year’s results for online retail sales were marked by the pandemic, with strong increases in the months of greatest restrictions (second quarter) and then slowing down in response to the lifting of quarantines and the openings of physical stores during the second half of the year,” said Bernardita Silva, Research Manager at the CNC.
She added that they also show that, “despite the slowdown in the channel, it continues to have strong sales levels, which exceed those recorded before the pandemic, indicating that many consumers will continue to opt for the digital medium either for comfort, convenience, or because there is still fear of infection”.
Silva said that the online channel’s share of total retail purchases is still well above the pre-pandemic level and is expected to remain at around 20% this year.
“The strong level of digital channel sales is also in line with the sector’s results. Face-to-face sales grew by 26.2% in the last quarter of last year, closing 2021 with a historical real rise of 32.4% (CNC Index),” she said.
“For their part, retail sales, excluding the automotive sector, closed last year also with a historical increase of 25.9% (INE). This strong impulse, which led commerce to be the engine of the economy, was marked by the greater liquidity of households due to pension fund withdrawals, fiscal aid, and the lifting of restrictions, which strongly boosted private consumption”, she added.
According to the CNC, the outlook for the future remains uncertain, “due to health, political and economic issues, there is still a lot of formal employment to be recovered, and it is urgent to regain confidence and increase investment”.
“It is expected that consumption will remain strong for a few months, given that there are still funds withdrawn that have not been spent, and then it will slow down as the transitory factors that have boosted it disappear. In addition, higher inflationary pressures, which have pushed down real incomes, will also restrain consumption, especially of non-essential goods,” she added.