I would say that online shopping has become second nature in the United States with $100 billion being spent in 2006. In other places around the world, such as Latin America, this is not the case. For one, cash is still king and postal services are not all that reliable – put these two together and you are likely not going to get many people buying things online.

During my time at Terra.com (I worked for the US Hispanic portal), the top reasons for not buying online were:

• Did not have a credit card
• Did not believe their package would be delivered
• Security concerns about giving out information online (specifically credit card numbers)

As with most of my post on LATAM – things are changing. Mexico reported that $482 million were spent online in 2006, a 53% increase from the year before. Internet sales are expected to grow even more in 2007, estimated at about $765 million. Interestingly enough, 61% of all sales came from users in Mexico City. 60% was spent on the travel section and 34% on computers / electronics.

Online consumer confidence is definitely growing…