As the largest economy in South America, Brazil claims a 55% share of e-commerce sales in the region. Not surprisingly, the country has rapidly adopted digital wallets. A survey in 2024 revealed that 76.4% of consumers in Brazil choose Pix, the central bank’s digital payment system, as their top payment method. Nubank, one of the world’s largest neobanks, was launched in São Paulo in 2013 and has since served over 100 million customers in the country.
E-commerce payments present a more nuanced story, though.
Online shopping in Brazil is about giving consumers a sense of control — from browsing in the familiarity of their Instagram feeds to choosing instalment terms for their purchases. Even small sums are broken down into two or more payment periods.
This need for flexible payment schedules has made credit cards popular for online shopping — credit cards make up 40% of e-commerce transaction payments in Brazil. Alternative finance players are taking note. Adoption of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) is slowly but steadily rising, comprising 6% of e-commerce transaction payments. Even the central bank is rolling out instalment options through Pix.
Brazilian consumers’ preference for social shopping — particularly on Instagram, Google Shopping, and WhatsApp — may also present challenges for digital payment providers. The ability to integrate payment services into these platforms is a competitive edge; Pix, for example, integrates with WhatsApp. E-wallet providers can also use payment gateways to set up integrations or secure payment links.
In the absence of digital options and credit cards, Brazil’s online shoppers tend to use cash. Up to 16% of e-commerce transactions are paid for with cash via Boleto Bancario , an offline-to-online payment system.
These trends hint at a massive e-commerce appetite and the opportunity for digital payment service providers to give Brazilian online consumers’ more control and flexibility — from meeting them wherever they shop online to providing diverse payment options.
Key insights for online merchants
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Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America and the 10th-largest globally, with a GDP of USD 2.17 trillion in 2023. Among its population of 211 million people, 69.43% are in the working-age group (15–64), creating a strong labour force and consumer demand potential. Brazilians are highly connected, too — the country has at least 172 million Internet users.
The services sector drives 58.88% of Brazil’s GDP, indicating a shift to modernisation and service-oriented growth. The industrial sector — particularly construction, food, and industry public utility services — also plays a key role in economic development.
Despite achieving its lowest unemployment rate in a decade in 2023, Brazil has a higher unemployment rate than that of major economies such as the U.S., Germany, and the U.K.
Brazil's imports reached $252.71 billion in 2023, rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic after nearly hitting $300 billion in 2022. Data from 2023 shows that China is the largest source of imports with imports, followed by the United States. Key imports from China include semiconductor devices, pesticides, rodenticides, and telecommunications equipment.
Online shopping is prevalent among Brazil’s internet users. Brazil’s e-commerce market is projected to maintain robust growth with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.14% from 2025 to 2029. This rapid development presents significant economic opportunities, attracting both international and local investments. Amazon, for instance, has built at least 10 fulfilment centres across the country.
Brazil’s online consumers skew young, with over 90% under the age of 54. Younger generations prefer to shop on social platforms like Instagram, Google Shopping, and WhatsApp. As this trend grows, Brazil’s social commerce sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25.7% from 2024 to 2029.
More than half (66%) of consumers say they shop online to find lower prices, reflecting a strong preference for value. Additionally, they are receptive to international products, especially those from China. Chinese goods comprised over half of Brazil’s cross-border e-commerce market in 2022, presenting opportunities for Chinese merchants. In 2024, Temu, a Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform, launched in Brazil.
Online shoppers’ price-consciousness extends to their payment preferences — more than 60% of online purchases are made using instalment methods. Compared to other emerging markets such as Mexico and India, Brazil has a much higher penetration of instalment-based payments, forming a distinct BNPL culture.
Given Brazilian shoppers’ preference for instalment methods, debit and credit cards are highly popular for both offline and online transactions. But new payment methods, such as Pix, are expected to surpass credit cards in transaction volume within the next two years. Benson, Antom’s Head of Business Development in Brazil, notes that Pix currently accounts for 40–50% of national transactions due to its low fees. Antom allows merchants to use Pix and major local digital wallets, including Mercado Pago and PicPay.
For e-commerce businesses, Brazil offers both scale and readiness — making it a strategic market for international expansion.
Key government initiatives that accelerated cashless payments adoption in BrazilBrazil’s rapid adoption of digital and cashless payment methods in recent years are largely driven by government programmes and public-private sector partnerships. 2020: The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) launches Pix Pix is a real-time payments system that enables instant settlements and peer-to-peer fund transfers via mobile apps and online banking platforms. BCB made Pix more attractive by offering zero transaction fees and requiring the country’s major banks to adopt the system — thus making it available all over the country. Pix’s growth has been swift and strong: in 2024, the system facilitated 63.4 billion transactions (worth BRL26.4 trillion or USD4.6 trillion) — up from 9.4 billion transactions in 2021 (worth BRL5.2 trillion or USD 962 billion). Although P2P transfers make up the majority of transactions made via Pix, business-to-business transactions contribute almost half of overall transaction volume. 2019: BCB proposes an Open Finance Governance Structure for regulated financial institutions BCB, together with the National Monetary Council (CMN), defines Brazil’s Open Finance environment as “sharing of data, products and services between regulated entities — financial institutions, payment institutions and other entities licensed by BCB — at the customers' discretion, as far as their own data is concerned (individuals or legal entities).” This sharing typically occurs over platform integrations. Open Finance allows end consumers to make payments on a website or app without having to open their bank app. For businesses, it extends the ability to offer a variety of digital payment methods and get a better assessment of a customer’s creditworthiness. 2020: BCB establishes core regulations for a sandbox environment The BCB Sandbox provides individuals and businesses with a controlled environment for testing innovations in finance — including small-business financing, rural credit, financial inclusion products, Pix-related services, and foreign exchange market solutions. |
Key insights for online merchants
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According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), strong consumption — underpinned by a stable labour market and fiscal transfers — will drive Brazil’s GDP growth at 2.34% annually from 2025 to 2029. Household disposable income per capita is forecast to reach USD8.59k in 2025 and rise steadily over the next five years.
Inflation is expected to reach 3.8% in 2025, well within the BCB’s target. The economy has robust macroeconomic buffers: substantial reserves, low external debt, a resilient financial system, and a flexible exchange rate.
Brazil is one of the largest retail markets in Latin America, with total sales of over $800 billion in 2022. The market is diverse, with automotive and electronics occupying the main market share, followed by food and beverage, daily consumer goods, and specialised retail such as gas stations. Chain retailers, known for their efficient management and standardised operations, continue to lead the industry.
Brazil’s e-commerce market nearly doubled from 2019 to 2024 despite the pandemic shock. Average annual spending per online user is expected to rise by 8.6% to USD347.30 in 2025. Spending surges during the shopping seasons of Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day, along with significant sales spikes on Valentine’s Day and Black Friday.
This growth is boosting the economy, creating many jobs, and reshaping retail. Local retailer Magazine Luiza remains popular both online and offline, fending off competition from international companies like Amazon. Aside from its Magalu shopping app, Magazine Luiza has also launched its own social network, jumping on the social commerce bandwagon.
A huge growth area is social commerce, fuelled primarily by Gen Z and millennial shoppers. The gross merchandise value (GMV) of social commerce in Brazil is projected to rise from $2.58 billion in 2023 to $10.65 billion by 2029. Statista reports that 65% of Brazilian shoppers buy via Instagram, followed by Google Shopping and WhatsApp.
Despite a strong preference for lower prices, nearly 70% of online shoppers come from middle-to-high-income groups, showing a link between income and online shopping. Smartphones (55%) and laptops (44.5%) are the main devices for online shopping, according to a 2023 survey. A third of online shoppers make online purchases at least once a week.
Brazilian consumers shop online primarily for the convenience of home delivery, lower prices, and a wider product selection. Statistics from Black Friday sales indicate that improvements are needed in delivery efficiency, advertising, and return processes.
Clothes, footwear, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare products are the top online shopping categories. In 2023, Brazil's pharmaceutical market hit $35.6 billion, representing 2.2% of the global market and making it the largest in Latin America. Government initiatives, such as generic drug programs and price controls, aim to alleviate medication shortages, with the generics market reaching $21 billion and holding nearly 60% market share in 2023.
When it comes to consumer attitudes towards online shopping, 67% of Brazilians search online before making significant purchases and 63% find customer reviews extremely helpful. Over a third prefer to purchase from multiple sellers within the same platform.
The use of smartphones and smart TVs for internet access has grown significantly in Brazil. The country’s cellular mobile connections at the beginning of 2025 totalled 217 million — more than the population, as many people use more than one mobile connection.
In Q3 2024, Brazilian internet users spent an average of nine hours and nine minutes online each day. Social networks and chat or messaging platforms were the most widely used apps. Besides using search engines, the most common online activity was visiting social networks to find information on brands or products.
Echoing the country’s surging social commerce trend, WhatsApp and Instagram were among the top five websites visited in Brazil based on data from September to November 2024. WhatsApp, YouTube, and Instagram had the most number of monthly active users.
Online marketplaces were not far behind — UOL, Mercado Livre, and Amazon were the sixth, ninth, and tenth most visited sites during the same period. China-based Temu is also becoming more popular and was the top most downloaded app in Brazil.
Key insights for online merchants
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Brazilians are rapidly moving away from cash as a primary payment method. The digital payments market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 28.86% from 2025 to 2029, reaching $862.5 billion by 2029.
A 2024 survey reveals that Brazilian consumers primarily use digital payments for shopping, dining, and bar purchases. They prefer instalment payments even for small purchases. Digital payments and credit cards provide these options.
The three key reasons Latin American consumers favour digital payments are convenience, simplicity in controlling spending, and contactless transactions.
Pix, Brazil’s leading instant payment service launched in 2020 by the Central Bank, makes up 40–50% of all payment transactions, thanks primarily to its low fees and widespread acceptance.
Pix supports online and offline payments, enabling cash withdrawals at convenience stores and integrating with e-commerce platforms for seamless shopping. This solution fosters a complete payment ecosystem, making Pix one of Brazil's most popular payment methods.
According to Statista, Pix’s user base continuously grew from 2021 to 2023, exceeding 159 million registered individual users as of April 2025.
Card payments in Brazil include credit, debit, and prepaid cards.
The country’s credit card market is among the strongest in Latin America. It is primarily dominated by Mastercard and Visa. Despite a four-point drop in Mastercard's market share from 2020 to 2021 and slight declines for Visa, they still control about 80% of Brazil's card payment market. However, local brands like Elo are gaining traction.
The digital wallet market in Brazil has rapidly developed in recent years, achieving an 85% adoption rate — making Brazil a global leader in digital wallet usage. Most users report high satisfaction with their wallet services.
Brazilian digital wallets are used not only for financial transactions but also for personal document storage and identity verification, especially among Gen-Z — the largest e-wallet user group.
Comprising only 16% of online shopping payments, digital wallets have much room for growth. Their ability to offer flexible payment options, such as BNPL and in-app integrations, may help attract more users. In fact, digital wallets are expected to exceed 50% of e-commerce payments by 2026, while Pix is set to capture 44% of the e-commerce payment market by 2025.
Cash
Boleto Bancário is Brazil’s main cash payment method — and remains popular even for settling online payments. At online checkout, consumers get a barcode voucher to print and pay in cash at authorised locations like banks, ATMs, post offices, and supermarkets.
Boleto Bancário payments account for 19% of e-commerce payments and is favoured by those without credit cards or who distrust online transactions. This method comes without chargeback risks and supports local currency, providing merchants secure payment protection.
Offline retail follows a different trajectory. Statista reports cash payments in offline retail fell from 11.36% in 2012 to 4.99% in 2022, declining as digital payments rise.
Buy Now, Pay Later
Brazil’s BNPL market is projected to represent 6% of e-commerce payments by 2027. BNPL is mainly used for apparel, electronics, and cosmetics, with 18% of users being under the age of 35. BNPL shoppers often spend 1.5 to 2 times more than direct purchasers.
Traditional payment methods like cash and cards are popular for e-commerce purchases in Brazil, but digital wallets are catching up fast.
As new and old habits converge, a balance between familiarity and innovation becomes more important. Businesses provide this by offering omnichannel experiences and payment flexibility. Today, Brazilian online shoppers can choose whether to pay online or offline, in full or in instalments. BNPL is an emerging trend worth noting, with 76% of online credit card users already adopting it.
Online merchants are working hard to meet consumers where they are online — typically on social platforms, but increasingly in online marketplaces as well. The government’s push for an open finance system makes integrating into these various shopping platforms possible, but it is a work in progress. Payment service providers like Antom can provide the bridge between how people pay and where they shop.
As the government and businesses continue to work together to innovate, Brazil is seeing rapid changes in its online shopping and payment landscape. Young, confident, tech-savvy consumers and an environment open to testing new solutions have come together, creating massive opportunities for online merchants supported by payment service partners like Antom.
In today's highly competitive market, choosing the right partner is key to business success. Speak to Antom’s experts today to find out more about our commitment to creating great commercial value for our clients through fast market coverage, industry-specific customisation, robust security, attentive service, and rich market experience.