“The shoppers,” says AJ Hernandez, “will be expecting the sort of delivery times they’ve become accustomed to over the past few months.” SkyPostal, which handles Latin American logistics for a number of major global ecommerce merchants both directly and indirectly through freight consolidators, is preparing for the crunch. “We’re already blocking space with airlines,” says Hernandez. “We cannot take the chance, especially to a country like Brazil, that we can’t get lift.”

AJ Hernandez: 'The argument was that it was cheaper to actually send something from China to the United States than it was from the east side of New York to the west side of the New York.'

“There’s a 50% rate increase on average for all international services. Not only was there a rate increase, but there are also some services eliminated.” Freight forwarders, like USPS, stopped delivery services across more than 100 international markets, sending thousands of businesses that depended on them scrambling to find ways to get shipments to their markets.’

"The pandemic has forced people who were wary of shopping online to try it," says A.J. Hernandez, President and CEO of SkyPostal, Inc., "and now sales, including cross-border, are booming."

“These rate increases,” says A.J. Hernandez, president and CEO of international business-to-consumer shipping firm SkyPostal, Inc., “further confuse a global ecommerce marketplace already struggling with the market confusion and logistical difficulties caused by the recent coronavirus-triggered shutdown in international delivery.”

One of the most challenging parts of starting an international e-commerce business is the fact that it’s international. This may sound basic, but the truth is that these days you can run a successful international e-commerce business without ever visiting the country where you’re selling. However, that doesn’t mean you should jump into a cross-border business without doing some serious prep work.

Today we’ll share some pro tips for running an e-commerce business in Latin America at a distance, from marketing to shipping and everything in between.

E-commerce localization is key for cross-border e-commerce retailers to compete with local brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers. Latin America is home to three of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world. For companies interested in jumping in early to the e-commerce boom in Latin America, understanding Latin American localization is essential to fast success.

The effectiveness of an e-commerce company’s international order fulfillment may determine its success in the near future. By 2022, it’s estimated that cross-border e-commerce will account for one-fifth of online retail sales. As e-commerce growth begins to flatten in North America and Europe, companies will need to look to international markets to find new opportunities.