Brazil e-commerce grosses more than $11 billion in 2012

Online commerce in Brazil last year grossed 22.5 billion reais (around $11.5 billion), up 20 percent over the previous year, the market research firm e-bit said Wednesday.

According to a study e-bit conducted with the Brazilian Chamber of Electronic Commerce, Brazil added 10.3 new million electronic consumers, bringing to 42.2 million the number of people who made at least one online purchase last year.

This year, e-bit anticipates a 25 percent increase in revenue from online sales, thanks in part to the soccer Confederations Cup in June and next year's World Cup, which will boost sales of big-screen television sets.

Pedro Guasti, e-bit's director general, said Brazil already has "more than 50 million Internet consumers."

Main sectors which attracted Brazilian e-commerce in 2012 were electronic appliances, fashion, health, beauty care, computers and home products. Most of the purchases were made with credit cards.

In financial volume, Brazil accounts for 59.1 percent of e-commerce in Latin America, followed by Mexico (14.2 percent), Argentina (6.2 percent) and Chile (3.5 percent), according to data based on a study conducted by the Visa global payment technology company.

With a population of 194 million, Brazil is one of the world leaders in Internet use.

A recent study by the IBOPE polling company said Brazil has the world's sixth largest economy has 52.5 million active Internet users, putting it in third place worldwide.