46% of Peruvians (15.6 million) made purchases online, according to the Informe Observatorio Ecommerce 2022-2023 (2022-2023 E-commerce Observatory Report) by the Peruvian Chamber of Electronic Commerce (Capece).
Capece Chairman Helmut Caceda mentioned that e-commerce in Peru registered a 30% expansion in 2022 —having reached US$12.100 billion.
He pointed out that —based on key figures such as banking services penetration (53.7%), the penetration of card payments (43%), and only 12% of Peruvians who hold a credit card— some sectors were observed growing despite the political and social crisis. These were payment for services and tourism.
For example, the tourism participation rate does not stop (22%), despite having registered drop at the end of 2022 due to political crisis and social protests, as it registered a growth of 120%.
"We know that inbound tourism increased by more than 300% in Peru during 2022, compared to 2021. Nonetheless, the sector has not yet recovered pre-pandemic levels," Caceda said.
"However, tourism sector's online sales grew 120% driven by domestic tourism, reaching —at least through digital channels— the levels it had registered before the health crisis. Therefore, the tourism industry should further explore and develop this channel in 2023 to continue increasing its presence in the market and generate higher revenue," he added.
Likewise, retail e-commerce is the axis that grew the least (9.50%). However, it is still the sector that has the largest participation rate in the aforementioned industry, reaching 43.8% of the total sales volume via the Internet.
"Since the pandemic (began), retail in the digital industry was not only the sector with the highest growth, but also the one that represented the greatest evolution. The international context, the political crisis, and the activation of physical channels diminished its performance," the executive stated.
Caceda stressed that the segment with the highest growth —especially in the context of the Qatar World Cup— was sports and online betting, which now exceeds US$15 billion.
However, a sector not far behind is known as digital services, accounting for 28% and a growth of 21.80%.
In fact, more people today make digital payments online, or from apps, with credit or debit cards.