One of the largest e-commerce marketplaces in Latin America is Mexico. More than 39% of the Mexican population, according to estimates from 2020, bought goods or services online. In the North American nation three years before, in 2017, the proportion of digital purchasers did not get beyond 30%. Mexicans are turning to the internet because it is more convenient, saves them time, allows them to comparison shop, and gives them access to deals and discounts they can’t get elsewhere. Due to this, eCommerce currently accounts for 36% of all retail sales in Mexico and is expected to reach $53 billion (US) by 2024.
Market versus online shop
These two e-commerce words are different from one another:
Marketplace
This website offers goods from several vendors; therefore, it has a large selection of goods that appeal to various customer types. Customers, merchants, and a marketplace administrator (the website’s owner) make up this group. Marketplaces make money by charging merchants and buyers a commission. It has several advantages, including the fact that sellers may connect their items to their social media profiles and do not need to worry about website upkeep or performance.
Online shop
This website offers goods from a single vendor to a broad range of clients; as a result, the vendor owns the website, and there are two distinct parties involved: the seller and the buyer. The owner must maintain a functioning website and provide a safe environment for online transactions. Nowadays, anybody can launch an online store using a variety of platforms, like Shopify, Magento, Woocommerce, Prestashop, etc.
Each individual must select which internet business model works best for their particular field of employment since both offer advantages and disadvantages.
Starting an online store in Mexico
To effectively launch an online store:
Select a marketplace or set up your own online business
If you choose a marketplace, you must get into a contract with the provider that specifies and clarifies matters like platform control, domain usage, passwords, industrial property, etc. You might also just open your webshop.
Constitutive act
This is the crucial legal document needed to establish a business or organization. For a new business, it is important to prepare a constitutive act in which you will name the shop, and register it with the Secretaria de Hacienda y Crédito Publico, and other appropriate agencies. This must be done after deciding which platform you will operate on. For an incorporated business, you must ensure that the fundamental act does not impose any restrictions on the online shop if it is the online store of an already formed firm. If this is not mentioned, a new paragraph referencing it must be added.
Register your trademark with the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI)
The IMPI website is where you may complete this registration procedure. It may take up to 6 months to complete, and the price ranges from $150 to $180.
Purchasing a domain
You must contact NIC Mexico (Network Information Center Mexico), the entity in charge of overseeing the territorial code, in Mexico (.mx). You may complete this process via the NIC Mexico portal for a fee that varies from USD$11 to USD$40 depending on the length of the extension sought. You may get the domain for your e-commerce business within 48 hours of making the purchase.
Use of private information
Since the goal of electronic commerce is strongly related to the acquisition and use of personal data, you must be familiar with the Federal Law on the Protection of Personal Data Held by Private Parties as the owner of an E-commerce in Mexico. Following the aforementioned law, you are required to create a privacy notice that informs the user of the personal information that will be collected, the reasons for its treatment, and how they can exercise their right of access, rectification, cancellation, and opposition or object to its use.
Consumers
The Declaration of Validity of the New Mexican Standard (NMX) of Electronic Commerce, which aims to protect consumers’ rights when making purchases online, was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) on April 30, 2019, by the Dirección General de Normas of the Ministry of Economy. The NMX will seek an equitable legal framework that makes it easier to conduct business transactions while providing security and legal certainty. It specifies that within five days of delivery of the item or service or acceptance of the service, the provider shall advise the customer of his right to withdraw permission without penalty or reason. To follow up on the transaction or handle any potential concerns, the provider must additionally supply their legal name, brand, denomination, or company name, their Federal Taxpayer Registry number, a physical location within the national territory, a phone number, and an email address. The vendor is required to provide a place where customers may rate and discuss the goods and services they’ve bought as well as their overall shopping experience. It is crucial to disclose the whole cost of the item or service, including any applicable taxes, shipping fees, rebates, or other fees in the local currency.
