Ecommerce in Mexico is undergoing a profound structural transformation. For years, the country’s digital strategies were built on the assumption that the organic channel was stable, predictable, and scalable. However, the 2025 data shows that this paradigm has started to crack.
Mexican consumers are not buying less; they are searching differently. For brands that sell or plan to sell in this market, understanding this new behavior is not optional. And for those selling internationally in general, it matters as well, because this is just another example showing that the entire user journey is shifting toward something we are not used to.
In Mexico, the reality is that major marketplaces and high-volume retailers are broadly losing organic traffic. This is not an isolated crisis affecting one site, but rather a channel-wide pattern.
Mercado Libre, the leader of the Top 100 eCommerce in Mexico, (which receives around 1.423 billion visits per year) dropped from 131 million visits in January to 94 million in December. Despite the absolute decline, it gained share within its category, rising from 48% to 54%. As for Amazon, its main competitor, it fell from 76 million to 44 million visits over the same period. Others such as AliExpress, Shopee, and eBay also suffered declines of 59%, 67%, and 61%, respectively.
What is driving this? The strongest hypothesis is that purchase intent is migrating toward new entry points such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and artificial intelligence models, which answer buying questions directly without redirecting users to a website. Traffic does not disappear; it gets redistributed.
To operate successfully in Mexico, companies must identify two types of organic visibility loss. Confusing them can be very costly:
There are three points during the year in Mexico that are supposed to stand out for sales, but according to the data… sales peaks do not happen then:
Hot Sale in May and Buen Fin in November do not generate organic peaks. The data shows that these events are flat or declining in organic traffic. They are phenomena driven by paid and direct traffic (ads, email, push notifications). SEO must be developed months in advance; paid traffic only amplifies visibility, it does not create it.
August is the true engine of organic eCommerce. It is the highest peak of the year due to back-to-school season and the end of vacations. Sectors such as stationery, consumer electronics, and marketplaces hit their highs because of genuine user need.
September, considered the “universal valley,” is the most honest month for SEO. With no campaigns or strong seasonality, it reveals a brand’s real, durable traffic. Sites with structural SEO such as Coppel (down just 1%), Costco (-2%), AutoZone, or Soriana (which grew) hold up during this month, while volatile models such as Shopee deflate by 61%.
Against the backdrop of the widespread contraction of generalist players competing for generic volume, niche brands with specific value propositions and useful content are gaining the ground that manufacturers are leaving behind.
The only vertical growing across the entire sector is Pharma. Farmacias del Ahorro consolidated its position as the third site with the most organic traffic in the country (behind only Mercado Libre and Amazon, and ahead of Walmart). Mexican users are actively searching for health and wellness on Google because it is a transactional intent that is difficult to satisfy on social media.
Within this category, a fierce battle is underway: Farmacias Guadalajara grew by 37%, narrowing the leader’s advantage; Farmacias de Similares doubled its traffic (+98%), reaching third place in the category; and iHerb grew by 36%. The most aggressive case was Prixz, which quadrupled its visits.
The top 5 eCommerce in Mexico are Mercado Libre, Amazon, Farmacias de Ahorro, Walmart y Liverpool.
However, there were two success stories that stood out from the rest over the last year: MacStore and Bodegas Alianza. Both posted organic growth of 138% and 139%, respectively. In MacStore’s case, the key was its content, which was useful and built around a clear value proposition that allowed it to compete with the manufacturer itself. Meanwhile, Bodegas Alianza capitalized on its specialization in wines and spirits, which enabled it to grow from 520,000 visits to 1.24 million.
The opposite extreme of these success stories is Linio, which appears at the bottom of the ranking with just 939 organic visits throughout the entire year (fewer than 100 per month). This case serves as the starkest reminder of what happens to an eCommerce business in Mexico when the organic channel is completely abandoned: it becomes a digital ghost.
In the past, when you searched for a product, you would almost always go through Google and from there to the website selling it. The difference now is that you are more likely to first pass through a social platform such as YouTube or TikTok to discover the product, watch a review, or check whether it is really what you are looking for. In this way, the website remains crucial, but in a different role: as a confirmation destination. If the user is not convinced by the product after seeing the review on Instagram, they will not make it to your website.
According to the latest National Survey of Financial Inclusion (ENIF 2024) by INEGI, Mexico’s payment landscape is undergoing a massive digital evolution, though one traditional king refuses to completely surrender its crown. Cash remains the absolute favorite for most everyday transactions among Mexican consumers. In fact, it continues to dominate the market, being used in 85.2% of purchases worth $500 MXN or less, and maintaining a powerful 73.5% share for transactions above that threshold. The deep-rooted cultural habit of carrying bills and its universal accessibility ensure that cash stays on top for now.
However, the real news for brands and ecommerce players is the boom in digital channels. Driven by a massive surge in financial inclusion, with 76.5% of the population now holding at least one formal financial produc, Mexicans are rapidly embracing smartphones to manage their money. Mobile banking application usage skyrocketed from 54.3% in 2021 to a whopping 69.1% in 2024. This digital-first mindset is completely reshaping how people pay at checkout.
Physical debit and credit cards have solidified their spot as the second most popular payment method, capturing 19.0% of higher-value purchases. Meanwhile, electronic transfers and mobile payment apps are the fastest-growing trend, capturing 7.6% of purchases over $500 MXN. As consumers drastically cut back on ATM visits and bank branches, the message for businesses is clear: providing seamless, mobile-friendly digital checkout experiences is the key to winning the modern Mexican consumer.
Image: Chat GPPT 2.0 Images
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