With turnover of €28 billion in 2018, the Spanish market continues to grow despite the political situation in Catalonia.
This wide-ranging study demonstrates Spain’s continued growth, with an overall unemployment rate falling and a promising internet penetration growth rate. The report also showcases consumer behaviour, consumer trends and interviews with leading retail and logistics experts.
Growth & Upcoming Markets
B2C e-commerce turnover grew to €23,905 million pushed along by a growth rate of 25.23%. Clothes and sports goods represent a 31% share of online purchases in Spain, with most purchases in the €100 - €499 price range.
Consumer Behaviour in Spain
The share of the total population shopping online is steadily increasing and expected to reach 62% in 2018, with men spending on average more than women. The e-retailer’s website remains the main influence when shopping, with 51% of consumers looking at the site before buying, compared to 27% across all social media.
Spanish consumers strongly prefer shopping from Spanish webshops. When it comes to cross-border shopping, while percentages of purchases from EU and non-EU countries remained fairly similar since last year, purchases from unknown origin countries surprisingly increased to 10%.
Opportunities & Challenges
With a high level of internet penetration (88%), and a substantial demographic increase expected, potential for e-commerce is high. While we still can’t predict what the political situation with Catalonia will bring, it does not appear to have affected e-commerce trade so far, and Spain remains the largest online market of Southern Europe.
The main reason Spanish consumers shop online is convenience, with price also being a key factor when choosing a webshop. Delivery cost is top priority for Spanish consumers and definitely something for e-retailers to take into consideration. Spanish shoppers have a heavy preference for third party online payment services such as PayPal.