Describes how widely e-Commerce is used, the primary sectors that sell through e-commerce, and how much product/service in each sector is sold through e-commerce versus brick-and-mortar retail. Includes what a company needs to know to take advantage of e-commerce in the local market and, reputable, prominent B2B websites.
Last Published: 1/9/2020

Overview
The government established a number of programs that have helped foster a growing e-commerce business environment.  Specifically, the government set up the Agency for Development of Electronic Government (AGESIC) in 2005.  AGESIC is responsible for developing the government’s electronic strategy.
Payment methods and logistics continue to develop in the country to support e-commerce business models.
E-commerce penetration in the retail industry is low at 3.3 percent (excluding food, beverages, and items of mass consumption), but growing at about 25 percent per year.  Local advertisers say the Internet, and especially social networks, are effective channels of dissemination of information about companies, brands, and institutions to promote products and services, but not necessarily to close business transactions. 
These market conditions characterize Uruguay’s e-commerce ecosystem:
• Nearly 88 percent of the population has Internet connectivity. The highest growth is among children under five years old (future consumers) and adults over 50 (current consumers).
• The mobile phone application WhatsApp and to a lesser extent social media networks (i.e. Facebook and Instagram) are the primary "gateways" for new users.
• Mobile phones are the primary drivers of user growth and by far the principal Internet access method.
• Among the younger population, Instagram is asserting itself as the second most used network, and the use of Facebook is decreasing.
• Uruguay’s Plan Ceibal is the country’s version of the One Laptop Per Child plan.  All public-school children receive a wireless enabled laptop increasing the population’s technological literacy.   
Current Market Trends
In 2012, the government enacted a decree, allowing consumers to import a maximum of five $200 online shipments per year to be exempt from duties.  Intense, ongoing pressure from domestic “brick and mortar” retailers prompted the government to restrict the number of purchases from five to three per year during the period from 2012 to 2017.  Despite these restrictions, the number of shipments in 2018 increased 6.4 percent over 2017. The value of the 2018 shipments was $38.6 million, an increase of 3.4% percent over 2017.  E-commerce delivery services in the country are immature with suppliers developing strategies to deliver products to customers more conveniently. In April 2018, Uruguay’s largest online retailer introduced MercadoEnvios, a service aimed at simplifying and improving the on-line consumer purchasing experience.  Uruguayan consumers, especially those in the interior, are beginning to understand and trust that home delivery is more convenient than using pick-up services. A large retailer noted that customers choosing delivery over pick-up grew 30 percent in 2018.
Domestic eCommerce: Business-to-Customer (B2C)
In 2018, online retailers Mercadolibre, Woow, and Pedidos Yá serviced 40 percent of the e-commerce market
- four out of ten Internet users purchased products or services (+800,000 people over age 18) from one of
these three enterprises.  In terms of usage, eBay-like Mercadolibre, transportation apps, foreign goods,
foreign services, food delivery and discount coupons are the most popular types of e-commerce sites.
Cross-Border eCommerce
Uruguayans purchase over 90 percent of online products and services from China and the United States.
When including shipping costs, these imported products tend to cost approximately half of similar products
available in Uruguay.  The government prohibits the importation of some articles: makeup, enamel, creams,
shampoos, razors, toiletries, toys, alcoholic drinks, sun and reading glasses, cosmetics, fragrances, tobacco,
cigarettes, lubricants and greases, cell phones, and seeds, as well as goods requiring licensing.  Amazon, Ali
Express, and eBay are the three major platforms used by Uruguayan consumers when purchasing from
abroad.
B2B e-Commerce
There are no restrictions for business-to-business e-commerce, but given the relatively small industrial base in Uruguay, it is seldom used. The Uruguayan government publishes tenders online at:
www.comprasestatales.gub.uy.
eCommerce Services
Uruguay is a regional leader in software development. It has the necessary human capital and tools to
support e-commerce activities in various industry sectors.  A leading example of a software application that
originated in Uruguay and quickly spread throughout Latin America is a platform (and app) developed by
Uruguayan company EDCOM to request online food deliveries from restaurants called PedidosYa.
The government provides over 1,300 government-related e-services to citizens (e.g., requesting
appointments for the renewal of a driver’s license, copies of birth certificates, appointments for passports) via
a centralized government portal.
Popular e-Commerce Sites
Among the most popular B2C sites in Uruguay are:
• MercadoLibre, a Latin American equivalent of eBay which commands 36 percent of eCommerce
transactions in Uruguay.
• OLX Clasificados, no auctions, only straight sales. OLX charges no publishing fees or sales
commissions.
• PedidosYa, an online restaurant food delivery service.
• Woow, a local discount company similar to Groupon.
Online Payment
Once a weakness in Uruguay’s e-commerce ecosystem, customer confidence using personal credit cards has
been steadily increasing.  Local entrepreneurs have developed popular e-payment apps. Consumers can pay
utility bills (and over 600 services such as schools, cable TV, homeowners association fees, Health Maintenance Organizations, insurance, etc.) by scanning the barcodes which debits the amounts owed immediately from their bank accounts. The development of a local PayPal™ equivalent, Mercado Pago (an online wallet for payment processing), has facilitated e-commerce sales.  This platform allows for payment using local credit cards in full or in installments. Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard certifies that the platform accepts, stores, processes, and securely transmits cardholder data.  Pagos Web and CobrosYa are locally developed online payment solutions for retailers. Paganza is an online and smartphone payment solution for consumers.

Digital Marketing
Several digital marketing firms operate however most foreign firms doing business in
Uruguay advertise mostly through traditional media.  Digital media readership increased by a factor of five in
the last eight years. Digital versions of local newspapers (El Pais, and El Observador) and Channel 10 are the
most viewed.

Major Buying Holidays
Major shopping centers organize three or four “buying holidays” throughout the year in which customers are
refunded the 22 percent value-added-tax (VAT) for in-store purchases only. Christmas, Mother’s Day (second
Sunday of May) and Epiphany (January 6, Día de Reyes) are significant buying occasions. Uruguay’s Digital
Economy Chamber (CEDU) organizes yearly three-day e-commerce buying sprees (CyberMonday). The 2018
event registered an increase of 33 percent in buyers, and some stores reported increases of almost 500
percent in sales over the 2017 event. Seventy percent of CyberMonday buyers were from Montevideo.

Social Media
Facebook remains a popular social media site. However, its influence, especially among youth, is declining
while that of Instagram is increasing.  The use of Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, and LinkedIn have all been
decreasing.

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.


More Information

Uruguay eCommerce Industry Trade Development and Promotion eCommerce