Latin America has embraced the digital age, and Argentina is utilizing the technology for digital purchases.

A study conducted by Prince Consulting for the Cámara Argentina de Comercio Electrónico (CACE) revealed business-to-consumer and consumer-to-consumer digital transactions totaled $4.53 billion in 2013, or 24.8 billion pesos in Argentina.

The business-to-consumer (B2C) and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) digital transactions in Argentina represented 48.5 percent of sales last year, however, the peak was 49.5 percent in 2011. The CACE and Prince Consulting have projected 2014 to reach ARS 35.22 billion, or $6.44 billion when converted to the U.S. dollar.

"When ecommerce sales are calculated in dollars, however, the picture is less rosy," noted eMarkter. "Accounting for the sliding value of the Argentinean peso compared with the U.S. dollar, eMarketer estimates B2C ecommerce sales in the country expanded by just 6.3 [percent] to reach $3.58 billion in 2013."

For 2014, eMarketer projected a 24 percent increase, which could bring sales up to $4.44 billion. According to the OANDA, the exchange rate as of March 27 stood at US$1 to ARS8.01.

Despite the concerns of the Argentinian currency, online transactions are expected to rise by 42 percent, although that is down from 2013's 48.5 percent. A reason for the percentage drop for 2014 is due to inflation, which has been recorded at more than 7 percentage points during the first two months this year according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INDEC).

Among fellow Latin American countries, Argentina is forecasted to be the smallest individual business-to-consumer digital market. eMarketer projected the business-to-consumer ecommerce market to grow at a 13.9 percent compound annual rate between 2012 and 2017. A result of the projection could reach Argentina's business-to-consumer digital purchase sales to $6.45 billion by 2017, which would be the least compared to Brazil's $26.12 billion and Mexico's $15.11 billion projections.

CACE and Prince Consulting's report did acknowledge the number of Argentina's digital buyers grew by 25.3 percent during 2013, which represented 12.4 million consumers. The aforementioned figures would account for 38.8 percent of Internet users. The average digital spending, per buyer, increased from $167.18 in 2010 to $365.63 last year.

According to ESET Latin America, Latin Americans have utilized the Internet during 2013 particularly for online shopping. As Latin Post reported, 32 percent of Latin American consumers shopped from a smartphone while 24 percent utilized a tablet. A majority of 76 percent admitted to shopping from home while 12 percent of online purchases took place from the workplace. Shopping in friends' homes or cybercafés was also noted with 7.5 percent and 4.3 percent respectively.

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