In 2014, Brazil is much more than FIFA World Cup host or Carnival central when it comes to business. It is also the next hot spot for e-commerce business. According to Forrester, e-commerce in Brazil grew 21% to a whopping $15 Billion in 2013, from $12.4 billion in 2012. And over the next five years, e-commerce in Brazil is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18% to reach annual online retail sales of $35 billion by 2018.
“Brazil is a top five Internet audience now. It shows no signs of stopping in terms of the audience size, the growth, the engagement, the use of search, the use of video, the use of social media,” said Alex Banks, the Latin America head for market-research firm comScore Inc. “If Brazil is not part of your international expansion and you’re an Internet company, then you’re doing something terribly wrong.”
While SLI recognized several years back the incredible opportunity to expand into the Brazilian market to help retailers boost their online presence, others are now also promoting their desire to do business with Brazil. In fact, the Wall Street Journal recently published an article about Alibaba’s plans for business in Brazil.
To compete with the likes of Alibaba, retailers in Brazil need to have compelling e-commerce sites. One critical aspect is to have strong site search tools so that shoppers can readily find the products they are most likely to buy. Companies accelerating their e-commerce sales with strong site search include Raia Drogasil, the largest pharmacy group in Brazil; retail giant Colombo; and others such as Centauro, Saraiva and Nike. All are working with SLI to boost customer conversion rates by as much as 30%.
For SLI, expanding into Brazil was the best decision; the company’s annualized recurring revenues in Brazil grew 95% during its 2014 fiscal year. This in part is due to a strong sales program, good relationships, effective solutions and the availability of SLI solutions in Portuguese. See it for yourself at http://usblogsli.wpengine.com.br/.
To learn more about how SLI helps global e-commerce retailers accelerate sales by connecting shoppers with the products they’re most likely to buy, check out our best-practice case studies.
