It Took a Pandemic to Get Latin Americans to Buy More Online

Brazil online sales gain is three times higher than U.K. pace
MercadoLibre signs up 1.7 million new customers amid lockdowns

MercadoLibre app
Photographer: Sarah Pabst/Bloomberg

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By Vinicius Andrade and Carolina Millan

April 30, 2020 at 2:07 PM UTC

Updated on

May 1, 2020 at 1:05 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

The coronavirus pandemic is reshaping consumer habits in Latin America, sending droves of buyers online for the first time.

MercadoLibre Inc., the region’s largest e-commerce marketplace, said it registered 1.7 million new customers from Feb. 24 to March 22, up 28% from the same period a year earlier.