Shop Until You Drop
By B. Michael Rubin
Brazilians who travel to the US always return with multiple suitcases full of American products. Sometimes, they become addicted to the inexpensive shopping in the US, everything from cosmetics to clothes to electronics. Soon they can no longer live without Clinique moisturizing lotion or one of the 65,000 software applications available for the new Apple iPad. They plan future trips to the US with extra suitcases – one for their clothes and the others completely empty for shopping. Recognizing Brazilians at Miami or JFK airports is simple: they are the ones pushing carts with a mountain of luggage piled higher than themselves.
In the past, only wealthy Brazilians could afford the luxury of travel to the US, but today many middle-class families are enjoying the bounty of America. Every Brazilian who enters the US carries two items: a Brazilian passport with a US tourist visa, and a long shopping list of urgent requests from family and friends.
What is responsible for this Brazilian love of US merchandise? Several factors. First and foremost, it takes plenty of reais to travel to the US, and more Brazilians have money nowadays because the economy is booming. How strong is the Brazilian economy? The government announced recently that the country has become the seventh largest economy in the world, moving ahead of both France and the United Kingdom. Brazil’s economy expanded 7.5% in 2010, the largest expansion in 24 years.
Another factor contributing to the attraction of American goods is the economy in the US is not doing well, which means the exchange rate is strong. Thus, reais buy more in the US now than they did in the past. Also, since tourists bring money into the country, the US is encouraging tourism by making it easier for Brazilians to obtain visas. A greater percentage of Brazilians applying for tourist visas are being approved, and a US tourist visa is now valid for ten years instead of five years. The US needs more people shopping as America’s high unemployment rate is keeping domestic consumer spending low.
A third factor assisting with the American shopping spree is the high rate of Brazilian federal and state import tariffs, which force all imported goods purchased in Brazil to have inflated prices. There are economists and even some consumers who believe maintaining high prices for imported goods is a wise fiscal policy because it protects Brazilian manufacturing and increases government revenue.
Some Brazilian consumers disagree with this policy, and they blame the greed of local shop owners for the high prices of imported goods. There may be some truth to that, as the stores know American brands are in great demand. However, with the Brazilian import tax rate (I.I.) at 60%, plus the ICMS tax of 18%, plus the cost of international shipping, even fair prices in Brazil can be nearly double what the same products cost in the US.
Thanks to the high price of imported goods, Brazilians are also discovering the value of Internet shopping on US websites like Amazon.com. Thanks to the name Amazon, some Brazilians think the website was designed specifically for them. In fact, Amazon is the largest online retailer in the United States, with nearly three times the Internet sales revenue of its closest competitor. Amazon is known among Americans for its low prices, large selection, free shipping (inside the US), and lack of sales tax. Brazilians are learning to do their Internet shopping before they even arrive in the US, making their purchases with an international credit card, and then shipping the items to the hotel where they’ll be staying.
Perhaps there is one more factor adding to the smiling faces of American shop owners when they see Brazilians. This factor is impossible to measure, and it is a matter of conjecture. However, I believe there’s a connection between the popularity of US shopping and the rise of women’s status in Brazil.
Here’s my theory: Any visit to a mall or supermarket in Curitiba will reveal the majority of shoppers to be women. I wouldn’t say that men never shop, because I enjoy it myself, but many Brazilian women LOVE to shop. It doesn’t take a great leap of imagination to suggest that Brazilian women have become big supporters of the US economy.
Entering the middle class in Brazil and maintaining that status requires a knowledge of consumer ideology, plus the necessary purchasing power. Today, Brazilian women in increasing numbers are graduating from universities and obtaining well-paying jobs, so they can save for their future marriage and purchase of their first apartments. Nevertheless, not every centavo they earn is being saved. Without trips to the mall, how would working girls reward themselves after a stressful day at the office?
A great deal has changed in Brazil since 1960, when women in Brazil couldn’t work without getting their husband’s approval. With more women graduating from universities and having their own careers, they have greater options available to them and more control over their own futures. They are enjoying the fruits of the feminist revolution that swept the US in the 1970s. In the US today, for every five university graduates, three of them are female.
Another way women in Brazil are improving their lives is by recognizing the value of learning English. In an unofficial survey of young professionals studying English in Curitiba, I found the majority of them to be female. Women realize that English has become the international language of business, which means adding English to their résumés is going to provide them with more job opportunities and greater earning potential. International companies with offices in Brazil now expect their employees to have at least a basic knowledge of English. Certainly, if there are two qualified candidates interviewing for the same position and one of them knows English, there is no question who will get the job. Additionally, a Brazilian woman who is studying English will soon want to try out her skill on Amazon.com or at the outlet stores in the US.
It is the dawn of a new century, and nothing symbolizes this better than Brazilian girls with university diplomas and international credit cards. It is not surprising that Brazil has a female president, something even the US has yet to accomplish. It won’t be long before Brazilian women are as educated as American women, where the majority of Ph.D. degrees are now obtained by women.
Michael Rubin is an American living in Curitiba. He can be contacted at rubin.brazil@gmail.com.
