Lowe’s Cos. Inc. is expanding its online presence south of the border, as the retailer announced this week a new localized site for shoppers in Mexico. Lowe’s has shipped to Canada via a localized site since late 2012, the only other country besides the United States in which it has an e-commerce operation.
The move comes about six months after its chief competitor, The Home Depot Inc., rolled out its own online store for Mexican shoppers.
Lowes.com.mx is built on an Oracle e-commerce platform, Lowe’s says, and a flexible order management system from Speed Commerce Inc. that links its web channel to physical stores in Mexico’s Monterrey metropolitan area. Lowe’s can now ship online purchases from Lowes.com.mx to local stores, ship from stores to consumers’ homes and offer in-store pickup. It also can ship to customers from fulfillment centers or by drop-shipping.
Lowe’s says it plans to expand into other geographic locations, noting that the web will play a big role in its global growth. “E-commerce expansion is a key element in Lowe’s international growth strategy,” says Doug Robinson, Lowe’s head of international operations and development. “As we continue to grow internationally, country-specific sites like the one developed by Speed Commerce for our operations in Mexico help us continue to provide locally relevant experiences for consumers.”
A young, digitally savvy population in Mexico is forecasted to help grow online retail spending in the country 150% from $2.2 billion in 2013 to $5.5 billion by 2018, according to a Dec. 2013 Forrester Research Inc. report, “Latin America Online Retail Forecast 2013 to 2018.”
The average age of residents living in Mexico is 28, the report says, and the number of online buyers in Mexico will increase 114% from 8.4 million in 2013 to 18.0 million in 2018.
In 2013, Lowe’s brought in an estimated $1.10 billion in online sales—around 2.1% of its total sales of $53.4 billion. Home Depot generates more than double the amount of online sales, as the merchant secured $2.76 billion in web sales last year—approximately 3.7% of its $74.75 billion total.
Home Depot is No. 16 in the Internet Retailer 2014 Top 500 Guide. Lowe’s is No. 36.
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