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With Shopee speeding up deadlines, Amazon expanding logistics centers, and Casas Bahia entering the Prime game, Mercado Livre’s record investment shows that the competition for online shopping has become much more expensive.
The yellow boxes have already become a common sight at entrances across the country. Now, in order not to lose the lead, Mercado Livre has decided to escalate the e-commerce war and announced a record investment of R$ 57 billion in Brazil by 2026, an increase of 50% over the R$ 38 billion from the previous year. The plan includes 10,000 new jobs and the opening of 14 new fulfillment distribution centers, bringing the Brazilian operation to 42 units of this type by the end of the year.
The move was not made by chance. Mercado Livre itself made it clear that the money will go to three central fronts: logistics, marketplace, and Mercado Pago.
The company wants to speed up deliveries, strengthen the digital showcase, and keep the consumer within its own financial ecosystem at a time when Brazilian e-commerce still has room to grow.
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According to the company, e-commerce penetration in Brazil is around 17%, still below markets like the United States and China.
Shopee grew and changed the game
The most visible pressure comes from Shopee. In February 2026, the platform opened its 16th distribution center in Brazil, with a new fulfillment unit in the metropolitan area of Goiânia.
The company stated that the expansion reduces delivery times for consumers in the region by about 50% and has increased its structure to 16 distribution centers, over 200 logistics hubs, and more than 3,000 Shopee Agencies in the country.
The Brazilian operation also already has more than 3 million registered sellers, responsible for over 90% of the platform’s transactions.
This scale is already reflected in consumer behavior. A survey by Klavi published by Times Brasil showed that, in 2025, Shopee was the e-commerce platform most used by Brazilians in terms of number of purchases, reaching 70% of the consumers analyzed and accounting for 54% of the transactions in the study.
Mercado Livre, on the other hand, appeared with a smaller base but with a higher ticket and a larger share of digital spending per customer.
Amazon also accelerated — and brought Casas Bahia along
Amazon did not just watch from afar. In April 2026, the company reported that it already has more than 250 logistics centers in Brazil, with 100 opened just in 2025.
The company also highlighted same-day deliveries in cities such as Fortaleza, Recife, and Belo Horizonte, as well as deliveries within a few hours in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro for dozens of categories.
In the same game, Casas Bahia started selling its products within Amazon. According to Brazil Journal, the partnership placed thousands of items from the retailer on the platform of the American giant and is expected to enter a second phase where Casas Bahia’s logistics will be integrated into Amazon’s operation, making the products eligible for Prime.
The agreement shows that the war is no longer just between pure marketplaces and has begun to attract large traditional networks in search of traffic, scale, and profitability.
Brazil has become the center of the battle
Mercado Livre knows exactly where it stands. Brazil remains the group’s main market and, according to InvestNews, accounted for 52.6% of the company’s total revenue in 2025, with R$ 84.5 billion.
The country has become the financial and operational heart of the company, which helps explain why the defense of leadership has become so aggressive.
The competition has also changed in nature. It is no longer enough to lead in visits or number of orders. The game now revolves around who delivers faster, who retains more consumer spending, and who can turn convenience into habit.
Shopee has gained ground through frequency and low prices. Amazon expanded its logistics network and increased the reach of Prime.
Mercado Livre is trying to respond with scale, integration, and a more closed ecosystem.
The cost of hegemony has already appeared in profit
However, dominating this market is expensive. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Mercado Livre recorded US$ 8.8 billion in net revenue and financial income, with a 10.1% operating margin and net profit of US$ 559 million.
The results continued to show strong growth, but profitability felt the weight of the new investment cycle.
According to Investors.com, net profit fell by about 13% year-over-year, and the margin shrank due to increased spending on logistics, advertising, and credit provisions.
This is the message behind the billion-dollar check. Mercado Livre is willing to earn less now to try to remain indispensable tomorrow.
The company wants to prevent Shopee from advancing too much in recurring purchases, Amazon from turning speed into loyalty, and new alliances from further scrambling the Brazilian market.
In the end, the “handshake” of e-commerce has become much more expensive because the next phase of the dispute will not be won solely by price. It will be won by whoever dominates delivery, recurrence, and the consumer’s routine.
Comment on which platform you think is winning this war in Brazil and share this article with those who follow retail, technology, and the advancement of online shopping.
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