The demand for air freight among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that sell online has increased considerably in recent years, driven by the growth of e-commerce. A survey conducted by Melhor Envio, LWSA freight platform, reveals that air freight shipments have increased by 80% in the last three years. Last year, compared to 2022, this increase was 37%
The Melhor Envio survey shows that road freight still dominates the shipping of products among SMEs operating in e-commerce, but air freight has grown proportionally more, driven by the increase in sales to more distant regions such as the North and Northeast
Last year, there were 686.027 orders sent by retailers via airplane through the freight intermediary platform, while in 2022 there were just over 501 thousand and, in 2021, peak of the Coronavirus pandemic, there were 376,4 thousand. In road transport, there were more than 20,6 million shipments last year, very close to what was recorded in 2022, with 20,3 million
According to Vanessa Bianculli, Marketing manager of Melhor Envio, the growth trend of shipping products via air transport among small entrepreneurs is expected to continue as e-commerce advances. The sector expects to generate more than R$ 205 billion and grow by more than 10% this year, according to projections from Abcomm (Brazilian Association of Electronic Commerce)
E-commerce allows consumers from any location to purchase a product, but the shipping cost always ends up scaring away sales. In our intermediation model, the entrepreneur is able to offer their customer fast shipping at a competitive cost, what helps you sell to locations further away from where your products are stored, explain Vanessa
The platform is a logistics technology for freight intermediation for those who sell online. In addition to various carriers such as Correios, Loggy, Jadlog, among others, also offers air freight with Latam Cargo and Azul Cargo Express. Air freight allows the retailer to deliver faster and to more distant regions and, with all certainty, impacts your business, as it allows for further increasing sales, affirms
North and Northeast lead in sending parcels
Not by chance, the North regions, where are states like Amazonas, Pará and Tocantins, and the Northeast, with Bahia, Ceará and Pernambuco, are the ones with the highest demand for air cargo transport. "This happens because a large part of the products ends up being sold in the Southeast and South", and air freight has a very significant impact, reducing the product delivery time by more than half, what is directly related to customer satisfaction, score Vanessa
In the North and Northeast, the demand for air freight grew 24% in 2023, reaching over 223 thousand orders shipped, and increased by 76% in the last three years, with 126,7 thousand orders shipped in 2021, according to the survey by Melhor Envio. "With the use of the freight platform by the entrepreneur, the consumer from Bahia, Pernambuco, Ceará, Amazonas, Pará, among others, has access to various products more quickly and with a lower shipping cost. This is important because the delivery – either by the waiting time or by the value – it is one of the main reasons for cart abandonment in e-commerce, highlights
Most searched products
Whether by air or by road, the most sought-after products by consumers in the online commerce of small entrepreneurs are led by fashion items, that include clothes, footwear and accessories, responding for almost a third of the requests, 24% in both modalities. Another highlight is jewelry and watches, with 11% of orders shipped by road transport and 3% by air. House and appliances represent 10% and 6%, respectively, and technology has 3% and 4%, according to the survey by Melhor Envio
