By CommPro.biz Editorial StaffAmericas Market Intelligence, a strategic market intelligence firm for Latin America, has released a new e-commerce guide for merchants that wish to maximize their returns from the Brazilian e-commerce market."Optimizing E-Commerce Payments in Brazil" is a 72-page market report offering practical, granular guidance for merchants and payment processors targeting the Brazilian market.While Brazil accounts for 60% of all e-commerce in Latin America, significant challenges await companies who go into the market without the crucial details needed to be successful.Key data points found in the report include:

• E-commerce in Brazil is set to grow by 15% in 2016 despite the economic recession affecting the country
• The overall e-commerce market size for Brazil is $23 billion—three times that of Mexico, the second-largest e-commerce market in Latin America
• Despite this robust market, without a local payment strategy, merchants only reach 17% of Brazil’s total addressable e-commerce market
• Non-card payment methods represent 23% of all Brazilian e-commerce sales, and 58% of e-commerce volume in Brazil is purchased using an installment plan

“Merchants face a number of challenges when going into Brazil’s lucrative e-commerce market,” explains Lindsay Lehr, Senior Director of the Payments practice at Americas Market Intelligence and author of the report. “Only 20% of Brazil’s credit cards are enabled for international use, which is a major problem for merchants using an offshore payments approach. Merchants need to replicate the Brazilian shopping experience as much as possible to cater to Brazilian customers,” explains Lehr."Optimizing E-commerce Payments in Brazil" also shows merchants how to develop a local payment strategy and partnerships, as well as how to find the right payment gateway.The report contains detailed profiles of 16 leading payment gateways and helps merchants select which are most suitable based on their size and industry vertical. “We made sure the report had actionable strategies so that merchants have the on-the-ground guidance they need to fully leverage Brazil’s rapidly growing e-commerce market,” says Lehr. The payment gateways profiled in the report include: PayU, PayPal, Adyen, Worldpay, Digital River, Braspag, PagSeguro, Mundipagg, maxiPago!, MOIP, MercadoPago, allpago, AstroPay, EBANX, Payzen, and iPag.The full report can be found on the AMI website.