“While the company does plan to keep its cross-border operations in Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, Shopee’s plan to cease local operations is short-sighted,” said Matteo Ceurvels, eMarketer senior analyst for Latin America and Spain. “The way to grow any brand is to build a strong, localized presence amid fierce competition from other local and regional players in these markets like Mercado Libre, Amazon, and AliExpress.”

But some experts suggest that e-commerce could be more insulated from social unrest than other sectors. “One would think that political instability would negatively affect e-commerce,” says Matteo Ceurvels, Latin America research analyst for eMarketer, of the current situation in Chile, “but in [some] markets with similar issues - such as Argentina or Venezuela - this has prompted e-commerce to grow at faster rates, rather than slow it down. ”