In October, a historic US Congressional investigation into big tech published a report which proposed a raft of new regulations to rein in the power of tech giants like Amazon. But what if instead of relying on regulations, the US introduced a new online marketplace that delivered low prices to consumers, lower costs for merchants and living wages for workers in e-commerce?
Last October, Argentina announced the creation of an online marketplace called “Correo Compras”. The platform is to be run by a state-owned company, Correo Argentino, which is also the country’s official postal service.
Argentina has been severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, and its lockdown has been among the longest. Even before the pandemic internet penetration in Argentina was already high (74%), and since the lockdown e-commerce and other digital services thrived in the country. Through its publicly owned option, the government aims to offer an alternative to Latin America’s current e-commerce private octopus.
