Brazil: Brazilian consumers go online, but so do infringers

Each year more Brazilians engage with e-commerce, and Brazil has taken the position of 4th largest internet market globally, representing 42% of all B2C e-commerce in Latin America.

With Brazilian consumers and social commerce becoming one of the main trends it is not surprising that social media platforms and instant messaging solutions make up most of the time spent online by internet users in Brazil, which holds second place in the global ranking of daily hours spent online.

Brands are heavily investing in targeted ads and online advertising, which Brazilian consumers are more accepting of (only 35% of those see these as a privacy invasion) and predictions point to e-commerce continuing to grow at a fast pace in the country.

The growth of the e-commerce consumer base has made it easier for sellers to market products to internet users without having to commit significant investments to "set up shop". As a result, the marketplace business model continues to grow, and today there are several international and domestic marketplaces with a firm hold on the country's e-commerce.

However, the changing online environment in Brazil has also created challenges for brand owners, which are frequently seeing their products (or lookalikes) being sold below margin prices. In practice, a considerable number of unauthorised sellers are advertising parallel imports and counterfeits on Brazil's marketplaces. Both practices are prohibited by the Brazilian IP Law.

Brand owners need to keep an eye out for misuses of their trademarks, grey market goods and counterfeits. Not all of the marketplaces are friendly to IP protection programmes. However, with the right online brand protection strategy it is possible to remove the hordes of illegal goods effectively, so that brand owners can increase their sales and protect consumers from faulty products.

Robert Daniel-Shores

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