Shopping pulse: Mexico!

This report explores the evolving shopping habits in Mexico.

This insights report provides an overview on how Mexicans go about their shopping, and compares their habits to 11 other markets (the US, UK, Australia, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Sweden, Norway, and Finland).

Shopping habits and behaviors are changing, and the most significant shift is around digital. Mexicans anticipate rapid digital transformation, notably with evolving digital payment preferences.

Happy exploring!

Methodology.

Klarna’s Survey was sent out online in collaboration with research agency Dynata to a representative sample of 1,003 Mexican consumers aged 18-65+ in February 2022.

The Mexican data has been compared to the countries included in Klarna’s recurring Shopping Pulse, which includes 19,000 respondents across 11 countries (the US, UK, Australia, Belgium, France, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Finland).

1,003 Mexican respondents

in comparison with 19,000 respondents, across 11 countries

Mexicans are anticipating rapid digital transformation.

Online shopping has accelerated amid the pandemic. And there are no signs of the digital transformation slowing down. Shoppers’ preferences towards online shopping continue to rise even as restrictions in physical stores worldwide are easing.

A year from now.

Over the past two decades, online shopping has pivoted from something for early adopters and enthusiasts into the preferred way to shop for people worldwide. Technological innovation will continue to marvel and excite, retailers will continue to improve their digital offerings, and the digitalization of retail will continue to shape the future of shopping.

56%

of Mexican shoppers believe they would shop most often online a year from now, showing an increasing preference for online shopping.

62%

Millennials believe the same, standing out as the generation thinking they would shop mostly online in the future.

Physical stores are still the norm for shoppers.

Mexican shoppers may have high expectations of shopping more frequently online in the near future, but the current online shopping frequency is on par with the global average of countries.

1 in 3

Mexican shoppers shop online at least once a week – which is slightly above the global average.

10pt

difference compared to the US.

Some categories appear more available online than others.

While some retail categories are shopped more often online, physical stores still see certain product types bought more often in-person. And the biggest differences are found across some of the most commonly-bought categories—indicating an opportunity for disruption—as online shopping’s main drivers are convenience and the ability to save time.

The charts below show the average percentage of shoppers in each market who have shopped the category online and in physical stores respectively.

Entertainment and Electronics

Are the only product categories that are more often shopped online than in physical stores in Mexico.

Clothing & Shoes

the biggest online shopping category, is more often bought in physical stores (49%) than online (42%). However, Millennials are about as likely to shop both online (47%) as in physical stores (47%).

Main advantages with online shopping.

The convenience of shopping from the comfort of their own homes while saving time and money are considered the main advantages by online shoppers in in Mexico.

Gen Z’ers

consider more personalized offers and the ability to create digital wishlists as main advantages to a higher extent compared to older generations.

Millennials

consider the time saving, availability of different payment options and avoiding pushy sales from in-store employees as main advantages to a higher extent compared to other generations.

Convenience is key.

Home delivery is the preferred delivery method for the vast majority, and “Click and collect” options comes in at a distant second place.

Home delivery

is by far the most popular delivery method, and there seems to be few alternatives

High adoption of mobile shopping.

When shopping online, the majority of Mexican shoppers prefer using mobiles. Mobile devices are expected to play a central role in the continued digitalization of retail.

High adoption of mobile shopping.

Mobile shopping has risen with the evolution of smartphones, and Mexico ranks first among the top countries that have seen the most rapid shift. Gen Z’ers and Millennials are the main drivers for this shift, but the older generations are not far behind. 

8 in 10

Mexican shoppers shop more often on their mobile phone vs 2 years ago (before the pandemic).

71%

Baby Boomers in Mexico – more than their generational counterparts in all other countries – have done the same

Mobile phones are preferred by the majority.

The majority of Mexican consumers prefer mobile devices over computers when they are shopping online. Ranked 1rst of 12 countries, Mexico stands out as the country leaning the most towards this preference for mobile devices.

71%

of Millennials prefer to use their mobile phones — the highest out of all generations in Mexico.

1 out of 12

Mexico ranks as the country with the highest mobile preference.

Overview of mobile shopping-related activities.

More informed mobile shoppers.

While retail’s digitalization has given additional power to the consumer—including more choice and information—it has also made the decision-making process more complex. Price comparisons, and actively looking for deals and promotions, are the most common activities. The ability to keep track of shopping deliveries and returns is also one of their top considerations when shopping online.

The chart illustrates the main activities of consumers when shopping with their mobile phone.

Over 9 in 10

compare prices and look for deals and price promotions online.

First out of 12

The Mexicans are the most meticulous when it comes to comparing prices.

Current online shopping hurdles.

Mexicans intend to shop more online a year from now, but the current shopping experience is still too complex and inconvenient.

Major drawbacks of online shopping.

Although online shopping is known to have many advantages such as lower price, gaining time or doing it from home, a majority of consumers are finding disadvantages in doing so.

The inability to see and try the product, shipping costs and uncertain or long delivery times
are currently considered the top disadvantages of online shopping

58%

of Baby Boomers are considering the inability to see and try the product as the main online shopping disadvantage.

Lengthy refund processes.

The majority of online shoppers experience a similar hiccup in their experience, waiting several days for their refund after they’ve returned their items.

More than 7 days.

Portuguese shoppers wait from 3 to more than 7 days to get their money back after returning an online purchase.

An inconvenient returns process.

The majority of consumers in Mexico find the returns process sub-optimal and believe that retailers need to improve in this are.

79%

of Mexican shoppers currently think that retailers should improve their returns processes.

84%

 of Baby Boomers say the same, while 67% of Gen Z’ers seem to find returns a hurdle.

Evolving digital payment preferences.

Shoppers have a strong desire to shop more online but are held back by what they believe to be a cumbersome experience. Consumers are looking for better ways to pay and want retailers to invest in new technology to make the shopping experience better.

Online payments.

In addition to logistics and returns, payments are also perceived as major pain points: half of Mexican shoppers (75%) are looking for easier ways to pay online, and 4 in 5 (80%) would be encouraged to buy more online if a wider choice of payment options was available.

80%

are concerned about the security of their payment information when shopping online

Try before you buy.

Today, customers expect a variety in payment methods. People would prefer to use the payment methods of their choosing which enable them to try goods out before paying.

84%

of shoppers in Mexico would be more positive towards buying from an online store that enabled them to get goods delivered before paying.

Buy now, Pay Later.

There is a very positive sentiment for services enabling shoppers to receive goods before they pay among Mexican online shoppers.

85%

would like to try a Buy Now, Pay Later service – only 2% wouldn’t

87%

say flexible payments would help them shop with peace of mind.

That’s it for this time!

The insights in Klarna’s Money Management Pulse is updated on a quarterly basis, so stay tuned for future updates.

Thirsty for more knowledge?

Make sure to check out the other reports that are available at Klarna Insights!