The landscape of B2C e-commerce marketplaces in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

The digitization of economy, and particularly the e-commerce can encourage innovation and contribute to the process of digital transformation of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) through the implementation of digital technologies and new business models, which can improve the efficiency and productivity of companies beyond its effects on access to new markets. Despite potential gains, activity of online platforms implies risks and challenges in terms of antitrust regulation, data protection, cybersecurity, and market dynamic. Better quality of institutions and an effective judiciary system and a competitive business environment are associated with higher efficient of platforms. Data and evidence for the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region remain scarce still.

This paper analyzes data set of online marketplace activity in the region between 2019 and 2021. Besides, it describes the main characteristics of online platforms in the region, as well as their distribution across countries and the evolution of traffic during such period. These data also were combined with country-level indicators to study structural determinants of those marketplace activities.