A highly internet-connected population that spends more time online than the British and Japanese combined. This is the panorama of internet access in Brazil, where users spend an average of 9 hours and 32 minutes per day. That's more than England (5 hours and 47 minutes) and Japan (3 hours and 45 minutes) together. The global average doesn't even reach 6.6 hours per day. These figures come from the Global Overview Report 2022, published in partnership with We Are Social and Hootsuite.
Internet access in Brazil has grown rapidly in recent years. A decade ago, only half of the population was connected; today, according to the report, the figure is 84%. It's worth noting the importance of mobile connections, which total 224.9 million according to GSMA Intelligence. In other words, Brazil already has more mobile devices connected to the internet than its inhabitants. Notably, the country ranks second in terms of time spent online via these devices, averaging 5 hours and 28 minutes per day, just behind the Philippines (5 hours and 31 minutes) in the 50-nation ranking.
Looking at this data on internet access in Brazil, it's easy to see good opportunities for global retailers. This is especially true as the country has one of the world's largest economies and electronic transactions are growing at a significant rate. There have been significant changes in this regard in recent years, as we will see next.
During the coronavirus pandemic, social distancing changed Brazilian consumer behaviour, and online purchases soared. According to a study by NielsenIQEbit, e-commerce revenues in the country reached R$ 199.1 billion in 2020. The growth continued in 2021, reaching R$ 258.5 billion. In 2022, the upward trend continued with an increase of 1.6%, reaching R$ 262 billion last year.
According to the study, the Perfumery and Cosmetics sector will be the fastest growing in 2022, with a 21.2% increase in Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) compared to last year. This is followed by Pet stores (16.3%), Electronics (10.5%) and Home and Decoration (9.6%).
