Payments and e-commerce in Puerto Rico

The most popular online purchases in Puerto Rico are personal care items, household goods, fashion and electronics [1]. In a population of three million, one million are regular online shoppers [2]. The average shopper spends almost US$200 a year with e-merchants [2]. In 2022, the national chamber of commerce launched a new e-commerce platform, to encourage the growth of online sales.

Over 70% of the population has a bank account and almost 80% has an Internet connection. This makes reaching Puerto Rican consumers relatively straightforward. Most of these are mobile-Internet connections, with just 21% of Puerto Ricans having fixed-line broadband [3]. This makes a mobile-first strategy a must for any merchant planning to break into the Puerto Rican market.

1. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1197513/puerto-rico-leading-products-bought-online
2. https://www.theweeklyjournal.com/business/e-commerce-gaining-strength/article_5d3d441e-e090-11ea-a9bc-b301cc023e9b.html
3. https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx