A study conducted by the consulting firm Cifra for the Chamber of the Digital Economy of Uruguay (CEDU) based on the results of two surveys, one aimed at the general public and the other at Internet users, showed that 90% of the people surveyed use the Internet to access Whatsapp, 85% to read news, 77% to access other social networks and 52% to buy products or services.
The report, presented by the president of CEDU, Guillermo Varela, during the last edition of eCommerce Day, indicates that 5% of respondents said they have made more than one purchase per month in the last year, 9% did it 7 to 12 times in the same period and 30% twice or more.
53% of those who made purchases did so in Uruguayan marketplaces, 20% in national online stores, 16% in foreign marketplaces, 5% in online stores abroad, 2% in hotels or tickets purchased in Uruguay, the same amount for those used abroad and 2% do not remember where they made their purchases.
According to the data disaggregated by age groups, there is an inversely proportional relationship between the age of the population and the frequency of consumption through this digital media. The same happens with the educational level, differentiated between primary, secondary and tertiary.
Among those who shopped at least once during the last 12 months, 52% bought clothes, footwear and accessories online in Uruguay, 44% hired a transport service and the same percentage ordered food delivery. As for consumption through foreign websites, there is an important trend towards the purchase of clothing, footwear and accessories (56%), in second place is the purchase of tickets and hotels (33%) and in third place electronic products (28%).
The credit card is currently the most used means of payment to make this type of purchases, both in Montevideo and in the rest of the country, followed by the collection networks and the debit card. This behavior is characteristic of all people, regardless of age.
Regarding the level of satisfaction with the purchases made in the country, 53% said they were very satisfied and 23% satisfied. Six percent were not satisfied but not dissatisfied, while only 1 percent were dissatisfied and 2 percent were very dissatisfied. The remaining 16% did not make a purchase.
Varela assured that the results of this research are encouraging and will be used to coordinate future actions in order to continue promoting the development of Uruguayan enterprises linked to e-commerce.
"In Uruguay we have very good indicators, a lot of work to do and an excellent disposition, both from the government and academia, to continue optimizing the instruments that allow the growth of digital commerce," he concluded.
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