Why More Brands Should Consider Expanding to Mexico Marketplaces

For brands considering expanding internationally, online marketplaces in Mexico can be a great option. For one thing, Mexico's total ecommerce revenue in 2023 is expected to grow 33% to $50.66 billion USD. This outpaces the expected 22% growth rate of total U.S. ecommerce revenue in 2023.  

Mexico’s growth is being largely driven by millennials making mobile purchases. What most brands might not know is that Mexico's most prolific internet shoppers are ages 25-40, and the most popular device to shop on within that segment is a mobile device.

Continue reading to understand why expanding your brand to online marketplaces like Mercado Libre and Amazon Mexico just might be the next best move for your business.

Mercado Libre Captures a Huge Portion of Mexican Market Share

Mercado Libre MX and Amazon MX lead the pack by far in market share. However, when looking at average monthly visits, Mercado Libre has a slight lead over Amazon:

Mercado Libre's model is most similar to eBay and its status is due in large part to the incredible success of their fin-tech arm, Mercado Pago. Mercado Pago, the payment system, is a mobile wallet that allows Mexico’s unbanked shoppers—nearly 1/3 of the population—to shop online.

Building a solid reputation for your brand on Mercado Libre is crucial.  One thing brands should know is the reputation of the seller is the single-most determining factor for success on the online marketplace. A great reputation will bring higher sales velocity, better customer reviews, a higher seller ranking, and the chance to be a platinum seller on Mercado Libre.  

Easy Transition for US Brands to Sell on Amazon Mexico

Just behind Mercado Libre in number of monthly website visits, Amazon Mexico is a great option for brands who are wanting to expand their international presence and already selling on Amazon US, but aren’t quite sure about diving into an entirely new platform.

Amazon Mexico’s platform is nearly identical to Amazon US, already having many built-in tools to help brands be successful. With a unified North American seller account, brands can easily transfer listings, including automated translation, currency conversion, and automated pricing updates to offset additional costs to sell cross-border.  

Difficulties for Brands Expanding to Mexico

Expanding internationally isn’t an easy process. Differing regulations and logistics can be a pain to navigate, especially without the right resources.

Differing Regulations

For products sold in Mexico, labeling must be provided in Spanish. In addition to translation, some products may require more or less labeling than required in the US. For example, all textile products like clothes, sheets, towels, etc. sold in Mexico, the label has to be permanently affixed to the product--meaning it must be a sewn-on tag. Knowing the various regulations takes time and resources that many ecommerce teams simply don’t have the bandwidth to follow.

Logistics

The logistics of selling on online marketplaces in Mexico can be overwhelming to brands who are unfamiliar with the market. Answering questions such as who to partner with to ship your products to Mexico, who to use as a customs broker and importer, and where to warehouse your products are just a few of the things brands need to consider.

Successfully Expand Your Brand to Mexico With Pattern

The difficulties of expanding to Mexico can be easily overcome with the right expertise and resources. As an international ecommerce accelerator, Pattern has successfully helped hundreds of brands expand to unfamiliar international marketplaces such as Mercado Libre and Amazon Mexico.

Going global can be intimidating, costly, and overwhelming, but with Pattern as your 3P trade partner, you’ll have the experience, local resources, and data to successfully expand your business internationally.

Want to learn more about taking your brand on marketplaces in Mexico? Contact us.