e-Commerce in Ecuador has improved substantially within the last few years.  According to Internet World Stats, there are 14.72 million internet users in Ecuador as of January 2023.  The COVID-19 pandemic compelled people worldwide to shift numerous daily activities into the virtual sphere.  Connectivity remains an issue challenge because of the digital divide in the country and saturated bandwidth.  According to national telecommunications regulator Arcotel, Ecuador boasted more than 10.8 million mobile internet accounts and 2.6 million active accounts of fixed internet access in March 2023.  In Ecuador, 13.3 million people are regular social media users, which translates into a broad advertising audience, especially on Facebook.  The number of social media users in Ecuador at the start of 2023 was equivalent to 73.5 percent of the total population.  Data published in Meta’s advertising resources indicates that Facebook had 12 million users and Instagram 5.75 million users in Ecuador in early 2023. 

The digital economy in 2022 accounted for $3.17 billion, a 36 percent growth from $2.33 billion in 2020 per Statista Market Insights.  Analysts estimate Ecuador will end 2023 with $3.43 billion in online sales.  Aside from the pandemic and regional trends, this growth can be attributed to several factors including a very young population and incredibly high mobile and social media penetration.

In September 2020, Ecuador implemented a value-added tax of 12 percent for OTT (over-the-top) platform services including Uber, Airbnb, and Netflix on credit or debit cards issued in the country. 

The leading e-commerce categories according to the Ecuadorian Electronic Chamber of Commerce are groceries, pharmaceuticals and OTC products, and restaurants and curbside delivery.  

The digital economy ecosystem is still in the early stages in Ecuador.  In terms of service providers in the country the following are available: 

• Payment gateways: Place to Pay, Payphone, Paypal, Kushki, Payclub, Nuvei, bank transfers, or cash on delivery (COD). 
• Last Milers: Uber, Rappi, Pedidos Ya, Delivereo, among others. 

The National eCommerce Strategy launched in June 2019.  The main objectives of this policy include: 

• Legal framework - to define a regulatory, orderly, and clear environment in relation to the conditions that allow the development of electronic commerce. 
• Local logistics and electronic commerce facilitation - to integrate postal services with electronic commerce, determining their problems and solutions. 
• Payment and security systems - to facilitate payments and transfers via the internet, promoting the use of ICT in commercial transactions. 
• Growth of electronic commerce in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - to promote local and international electronic commerce, through training, technical support, and advice to the SMEs in Ecuador. 

The Ecuadorian Electronic Chamber of Commerce (CECE) is a non-profit organization that seeks to develop the electronic commerce ecosystem locally.  Since 2010, CECE gathered important retailers from the private sector to join a regional initiative and launched the first eCommerce Day, an annual event ever since.  This event is a showcase of regional trends of the industry and shares best practices among attendees.  For more information on CECE and the latest eCommerce studies please visit: https://cece.ec/

Please visit Ecuador’s Business Service Providers directory at: Ecuador Business Service Providers (trade.gov)