U.S. retail companies are not announcing a mass migration of customer support operations to Latin America. There are no earnings call headlines or press releases celebrating the nearshore call center expansion. Yet inside CX, operations, and procurement teams, the shift is already well underway.
This movement is not driven solely by experimentation or cost arbitrage. It is the result of structural pressure on retail customer experience. As ecommerce volume increases, customer expectations for response time, language support, and issue resolution are evolving faster than traditional support models can adapt.
Retailers that once relied on domestic teams or distant offshore centers are increasingly turning to retail call centers in Latin America because nearshore models align better with modern retail realities. Time-zone overlap, bilingual and multilingual talent, cultural proximity, and government-backed BPO ecosystems have made LATAM a practical extension of U.S. retail operations rather than a risky alternative.
Why Retail Support Models Started Breaking
Retail customer support has changed in character. The majority of customer interactions now involve order changes, delivery coordination, returns, refunds, loyalty programs, and account management rather than pre-purchase questions. These interactions are time-sensitive and emotionally charged, which places pressure on response speed and communication quality.
Industry research consistently shows that delayed responses and repeated hand-offs degrade customer satisfaction and loyalty, even when the underlying issue is minor. Retailers began to see that support performance was becoming a brand risk rather than a back-office function.
Domestic support teams in the U.S. are expensive to scale and difficult to staff for extended hours. Offshore models in Asia introduced time-zone delays and escalation bottlenecks that conflicted with customer expectations. Nearshore LATAM models emerged as a middle ground that solved both problems simultaneously.
Why Nearshore LATAM Fits U.S. Retail Reality
Latin America offers several structural advantages that align with U.S. retail support needs. Most LATAM countries operate within one to three hours of U.S. time zones, enabling real-time collaboration and same-day issue resolution without overnight shifts. Cultural familiarity with U.S. retail norms improves communication clarity and empathy.
Strong bilingual and multilingual talent pools allow retailers to expand Spanish-language support without fragmenting operations.
These advantages have driven steady growth in ecommerce call center outsourcing across the region, particularly for retail brands handling high interaction volumes.
El Salvador: A Growing Nearshore Hub for Retail Support
El Salvador has emerged as a strategic location for U.S. retailers seeking nearshore support. The country’s proximity to the U.S., cultural alignment, and improving infrastructure have made it attractive for El Salvador retail call center operations.
English proficiency has improved significantly, supported by education reforms and U.S. cultural exposure. Spanish-English bilingual capability is widespread, enabling multilingual customer service call center operations for retailers serving diverse U.S. audiences.
For recent momentum, El Salvador’s AmCham has reported that the call center and BPO sector created 12,000 new jobs in 2024, supported in part by English-language talent programs coordinated with the Ministry of Economy.
From a cost perspective, El Salvador offers lower labor costs than the U.S. while maintaining competitive quality benchmarks, making it suitable for mid-volume retail support programs. The government actively promotes the BPO sector through investment incentives, tax benefits, and workforce development programs administered by Invest El Salvador.
U.S. brands in telecommunications, retail, and financial services have already established contact centers in El Salvador, validating its viability as a nearshore destination.
Aída Muñoz, Executive Director of AmCham El Salvador, said: “Solo en el sector de call centers y BPO’s se generaron 12,000 nuevos empleos en 2024. Esperamos en este año generar una cifra similar o superior”, noting the sector’s partnership with the Ministry of Economy on English-language talent development.
Belize: English-First Support with Cultural Proximity
Belize offers a unique advantage in Latin America: English is the official language. This makes the Belize retail call center model particularly attractive for U.S. retailers that prioritize accent familiarity and linguistic consistency.
Belize’s workforce is fluent in English, Spanish, and often Creole, enabling both English-only and multilingual support programs. Time-zone alignment with U.S. Central Time supports real-time customer engagement and escalation handling.
While Belize’s talent pool is smaller than that of larger LATAM countries, it is well-suited for specialized retail programs that require high communication quality rather than massive scale. The Belize Trade and Investment Development Service actively supports BPO growth through incentives and skills development initiatives.
Belize’s call center and BPO industry have become major private-sector employers. In May 2025, Prime Minister John Briceño stated the sector employs over 16,000 workers and pays approximately $150 million in salaries, emphasizing its role as a key economic engine.
Retailers using Belize typically deploy it as part of a hybrid nearshore strategy rather than a single-country solution.
Lincoln Blake, Director of the Investment Policy and Compliance Unit in Belize’s Ministry of Economic Development and Investment, said Belize’s BPO sector employs “around 20,000 people” and represents “almost $150 million dollars in wages paid out as at the end of 2024”, framing the industry as a priority area for modernization through a national digital strategy.
Colombia: Scale, Sophistication, and Multilingual Capability
Colombia is one of the most mature BPO markets in Latin America and a leading destination for Colombia retail call center operations. The country offers a large, educated workforce with strong experience supporting U.S. retail and ecommerce brands.
English and Spanish-bilingual talent is widely available, and multilingual programs supporting Portuguese and French are increasingly common. Colombia’s size enables retailers to scale support operations rapidly without compromising consistency.
Colombia’s BPO sector is one of the region’s largest, supported by scale and institutional maturity. Colombia’s BPO association (BPrO) has reported that the industry generates more than 752,600 direct jobs and recorded 6% growth in the last year, in the context of a formal-sector update.
Government support has played a major role. ProColombia and the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications have invested heavily in digital infrastructure, tax incentives, and talent development for the BPO sector. According to Statista, Colombia’s BPO industry employs hundreds of thousands of professionals and continues to grow as nearshore demand increases.
Major U.S. retailers and ecommerce platforms use Colombia for customer support, order management, and loyalty program assistance due to its reliability and scale.
Ana Karina Quessep, President (Presidente Ejecutiva) of BPrO, said: “Este reconocimiento es un reflejo de nuestra dedicación constante hacia el desarrollo profesional y la apertura de oportunidades en Colombia. Continuaremos avanzando en la construcción de un futuro laboral inclusivo y próspero para todos”, tying sector recognition to talent development and job creation.
Jamaica: A Mature Retail CX Destination
Jamaica has long been a cornerstone of the Caribbean BPO industry and remains a preferred destination for Jamaica retail call center operations. The country’s strong English proficiency, cultural affinity with the U.S., and experienced CX workforce make it well-suited for retail support.
Jamaica operates in U.S. Eastern Time for much of the year, which simplifies scheduling and coordination. The workforce has deep experience supporting U.S. retail, healthcare, and financial services customers.
Jamaica’s global services and BPO sector has expanded sharply in recent years. In March 2024, Senator Aubyn Hill, Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, stated that around 62,000 Jamaicans work in the BPO industry, representing a 44% increase from the pre-pandemic figure of 43,000.
Industry coverage also references Jamaica’s longer-term growth trajectory, with the BPO sector expanding from roughly 5,000 workers to around 60,000 over the past 25 years, reflecting the country’s position as a mature Caribbean delivery hub.
The Jamaican government actively supports the BPO sector through the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), offering investment incentives, training programs, and infrastructure development. According to the Inter-American Development Bank, Jamaica’s BPO industry employs over 40,000 workers and is a critical contributor to the economy.
U.S. retail brands frequently use Jamaica for voice-heavy support programs that require strong communication skills and empathy.
Speaking publicly about productivity and services growth, Senator Aubyn Hill said: “Increased productivity is the single most important factor which will drive growth in this country. We can’t duck it.” He also linked stronger productivity to BPO sector gains, including a revenue surge referenced in the same remarks.
Language Support Is No Longer Optional
As U.S. demographics shift, Spanish-language support has become essential for national retailers. LATAM nearshore destinations provide natural bilingual and multilingual capabilities without the operational friction of managing separate language teams.
Modern multilingual customer service call center operations in LATAM often integrate English and Spanish support within the same workforce, improving flexibility and reducing costs. Some retailers are also deploying AI-powered accent translation to further standardize customer interactions and improve comprehension across accents.
These technologies allow agents to communicate more clearly while preserving the human element of customer support.
AI Is Reshaping Retail Call Center Performance
Retailers moving support to LATAM are not relying solely on labor advantages. Many are pairing nearshore talent with AI-powered call center quality management systems that automate interaction scoring, sentiment analysis, and coaching feedback.
McKinsey research shows that AI-driven quality management improves consistency, reduces operational overhead, and supports agent performance at scale. Nearshore centers benefit significantly from these systems because they standardize quality across distributed teams.
Real U.S. Retail Brands Using Nearshore Models
Several large U.S. retailers have publicly acknowledged nearshore or LATAM-based customer support strategies. Walmart operates extensive nearshore and offshore support networks to manage its massive retail and ecommerce volume. Amazon uses a global support model that includes nearshore locations to ensure time-zone coverage and language support.
Target and Best Buy have also referenced hybrid support models in investor and operations discussions, highlighting the importance of scalability and availability in delivering the customer experience.
These brands demonstrate that nearshore support is not experimental. It is an operational infrastructure.
Cost, Talent, and Resilience Drive the Decision
While cost efficiency remains a factor, it is no longer the primary driver. LATAM nearshore models reduce cost per contact compared to U.S.-only operations, but the larger benefit lies in predictability and resilience.
Retailers gain access to deep talent pools, flexible staffing, and government-supported ecosystems that can scale with demand. Time-zone alignment reduces escalation delays. Language coverage improves inclusivity. AI-driven quality systems maintain consistency.
Conclusion
U.S. retailers are quietly moving customer support to Latin America because retail has changed. Customer expectations now demand speed, empathy, and availability that traditional models struggle to deliver.
El Salvador, Belize, Colombia, and Jamaica each offer distinct advantages in culture, cost, talent, language, and time-zone alignment. Supported by proactive government policies and maturing BPO ecosystems, these countries are becoming integral to modern retail customer experience strategies.
This shift is not about replacing domestic teams. It is about building resilient, scalable retail call center operations that can support growth without sacrificing quality. Once retailers experience the operational benefits of nearshore LATAM support, the move rarely reverses.
