Commerce in Chile accounts for 10% of GDP and 19% of employment, says trade association

Commerce in Chile represents 10 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 19 percent of national employment, the Santiago Chamber of Commerce (CCS) said in a report on National Commerce Day.

According to the CCS, Chile’s retail trade sector employs 1.5 million workers, while its sales amounted to some US$100 billion in the last decade.

The president of the guild, María Teresa Vial, expressed in the document that the retail industry has meant in the last 10 years “a great contribution to national entrepreneurship and employment”, given the “constant innovative vision of those who work in the sector”.

According to the report, the number of retail companies is growing at an average annual rate of 3.3 percent and sales at 4.2 percent, making it one of the most dynamic sectors of the local economy.

Vial highlighted the leap experienced by companies dedicated exclusively to digital commerce, driven by the boom in e-commerce during the pandemic.

These companies “already exceed 16,000 and are consolidating as one of the specialties with the greatest presence in commerce, also driving an ecosystem that feeds on technology, communications, security, means of payment, and logistics,” she said.

According to the survey, another area of great growth in the period has been the pet sector, whose sales have increased sevenfold since 2011, as has the number of establishments selling pet products.

Meanwhile, the food sector is the most populated, with more than 140,000 specialized stores, corresponding to 40 percent of the total.

On the other hand, some activities that have decreased in terms of the number of companies and sales volume are stores selling music and video recordings, books, printed newspapers and magazines, and fuels such as firewood and coal, among others.

Regarding the future of the commercial industry, the CCS projected a general rebound in sales in the second half of 2023, after the “complex situation” faced last year due to the global economic crisis with high inflation levels.

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