E-commerce sales in Colombia totaled nearly $2 bn

Bogota, June 8 (IANS/EFE) E-commerce sales in Colombia amounted to nearly $2 billion last year, according to a report released Friday.

The study, prepared by the Chile-based firm Cuponatic, which also has operations in Colombia, Peru and Mexico, said purchases with online coupons accounted for $300 million of that total.

Colombians most often used e-coupons to purchase travel packages, technology, beauty and medical treatments and erotic products.

According to the head of Cuponatic's Colombia business, Camilo Perdomo, 25 percent of the e-commerce transactions in the Andean nation are made from smartphones or other mobile devices.

The report added that increasing numbers of Colombians are making their purchases online "for reasons of convenience, security and the speed with which they can find everything in one place".

Colombians surveyed for the study said the main advantage of e-commerce was that the Internet is available 24 hours a day, while the biggest drawback was that the range of options, products and payment methods could still be expanded.

--IANS/EFE

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