We just published our third and final report in the Retail eCommerce in Brazil series. We tackled key performance indicators in our first report and team headcount and priorities in our second—our third report looks at the marketing tactics employed by online retailers in Brazil and the site features they’re embracing.  All three reports summarize the findings of a survey we fielded of 300+ online retailers in Brazil together with partner e-Commerce Brasil.  

In the report, we find that:

Online retailers continue to rely heavily on core marketing tactics. Despite the bevvy of new and emerging marketing options at their disposal, eCommerce leaders continue to prioritize search and email marketing as the most effective tactics for acquiring customers. Not surprisingly, store-based online retailers find offline advertising more effective than other types of online retailers do, and web-only retailers find social networks to be a particularly good source of customer acquisition.

eCommerce businesses are embracing a broader variety of site features—but some still fall far down the list. In Brazil, the overwhelming majority of online retailers offer a variety of customer service options online, and features like product recommendations and ratings are reviews are now widespread. However, other areas like optimized checkout are less common. Less than a third of online retailers surveyed offer one-page checkout while even fewer offered the ability to check out as a guest on the site—options that tend to be popular with online shoppers.

Visual site features are also becoming more common across eCommerce sites. In Brazil, visual features like product image zoom are deployed by the overwhelming majority of retailers surveyed. Others like video are currently offered by less than half of online retailers surveyed, yet an equal number say they plan to offer video on their sites going forward. Virtual sizing tools – a feature that only tends to appeal to retailers in certain categories– see limited deployment: Less than 10% of online retailers surveyed currently offer virtual sizing tools and most indicate no immediate plans to add them to their sites.  

Next up will be our new five-year forecast on the eCommerce markets of Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. Stay tuned!