Free market rules: what conquered consumers Argentine Amazon

When lockdowns began in Latin American cities in March 2020, one would have thought that MercadoLibre, the region's premier e-commerce platform, was entering an existential crisis. For about a week, sales dropped significantly, but then they resumed with renewed vigor and very soon exceeded last year's values.

MercadoLibre's online sales revenue is up 90% in 2020, according to BLOOMBERG Intelligence, as covid-19 accelerated online retail growth. The number of marketplace buyers increased by 40% to 65 million in the 12 months ending March 31. “That kind of growth would take us three to five years in some countries,” says co-founder and CEO Markos Galperin. “There is no turning back.”

While MercadoLibre is helping change Latino shopping habits, investors are more interested in how they pay for their purchases. Payments through MercadoPago's fintech arm grew 75% last year to $50 billion as merchants launched mobile app and QR code payment options.

The credit business of the company also more than doubled. In 2018, analysts at Goldman Sachs predicted that 40% of MercadoLibre's value would be generated by its fintech division. Now we are talking about 60%.