From eBay’s perspective, anything that causes barriers or frictions to online global trade weakens the growth of ecommerce for the Latin American region. Shipping, for example, can be a challenge for Latin American sellers looking to export, as they need to find the right balance between speed and cost to keep their business competitive while offering great customer service. Local postal services may offer competitive pricing at the expense of speedy delivery and tracking accuracy, while private carriers can be expensive.

Logistics and reliability are a key barrier for the continued growth of ecommerce in Latin America. Many Latin Americans do not yet experience the reliable and fast delivery times that are common in more mature ecommerce markets. Another important barrier has to do with culture, especially when it comes to used goods. Traditionally, Latin American consumers were not used to selling things they no longer needed.

Undoubtedly, one of the biggest limitations for Latin American consumers is security. This is still an important issue since the cost of cybercrime around the world will reach $2.1 billion. Even though ecommerce offers consumers a number of possibilities, it has also become fertile ground for online scams. They are even more commonplace especially for those consumers who are not used to surfing the web in search of offers.

Cross-border trade is by far one of the most important growth drivers for ecommerce in Latin America, from both consumer and retail business perspectives. Shopping a global marketplace like eBay gives consumers access to greater inventory selection and value, which increases their purchase power.

The digitization of money, rapid expansion of internet access and mobile phone adoption have created the perfect conditions to make saving, spending, giving and borrowing both easier and cheaper for consumers. This gives banks an important role in promoting ecommerce.

Growth is primarily driven by increased access to smartphones and credit cards, especially among consumers in urban areas. When it comes to the buying and selling of used goods, increased awareness has been an additional driver since we need a more sustainable consumption model that is good for our economy, society and environment.

Over 75% of users access OLX on their mobile phone, particularly through the OLX Android app. It is the most convenient way for users to buy and sell since they can take product photos with their phone and publish them immediately. Our users can also communicate with one another by using the OLX chat feature.

Mobile is a critical component of our business: More than 60% of eBay’s volume involves a mobile touchpoint—from a buyer starting a search or watching an item, to fully completing a transaction on their phone. Mobile is also changing how consumers and businesses sell. Roughly 13.7 million eBay listings are created each week via mobile devices. We continue to think “mobile first” as we design new products and experiences.

According to a recent study by BigData Corp. conducted for us this year, the results showed positive growth for mcommerce: 74.26% of online businesses in Argentina now have websites that are optimized for mobile devices, compared to just 10.42% in 2017. Bearing this in mind, this is why PayPal has developed products and strategies that are able to adapt to this reality, such as One Touch™ [automatic login] for the web and its mobile version. This product was very well received by consumers, and we’ve been able to fulfill our vision of providing a fast and safe experience for merchants.

PayPal differentiates itself since the company promotes the democratization of financial services, especially through our various partnerships. Globalization has not only changed our customers’ needs, but also the way in which we must serve them. We’ve made it easy and reliable for people around the world to move and manage their money digitally. That's why we're quickly becoming a daily necessity for people since they now rely more on technology to make their day-to-day activities simpler and faster.

eBay has one of the world’s largest selections of inventory, with 1.1 billion items worldwide and more than 500 million available for our users in Latin America. This access to such a wide range of inventory also brings great value for buyers, which, combined, makes our platform stand out as a leader in ecommerce and cross-border shopping.

Since OLX focuses on C2C [consumer-to-consumer] trade, we have unique content that is not available on any other site. This unique content generates a lot of engagement because users come back daily or even several times a day to check out what new offers are available in their area.

I am very excited to be part of a company that represents innovation. The future is here, and we can no longer think that ecommerce is something that will come in a few years. It’s a reality today. I am also very excited to see that Latin America is growing and improving. That is why we are dedicating a lot of time and energy into promoting ecommerce throughout the region.

What excites me the most about the future of ecommerce in Latin America is its tremendous growth potential, and how eBay is playing a key role in this growth by creating a better form of ecommerce for both buyers and sellers.

What most excites us at OLX is how we are changing the consumption model in Latin America. We are impacting the lives of millions of families in a positive way by allowing them to get money from products they no longer need. In turn, users are able to buy unique used products at an attractive price and also build a more sustainable consumption model by extending the economic life of products.