The Rise of Online Shopping in Spain
It isn’t so many years ago that getting online in Spain was a challenge. That has changed, and there is WiFi everywhere, plus fibre optic broadband is expanding, and you can get 4G if you want. Now, according to a recent article from eMarketer, Spain’s online consumers are growing in number quite rapidly thanks to this boom in internet access.
The latest data shows that the number of digital buyers aged 14 and over is expected to rise by 7.9% in Spain by the end of 2015. This represents a reach of around 17.5 million people, or 60% of Spain’s internet users. Indeed, Spain is expected to show the fastest online consumer growth in Western Europe through to 2019. There may be a blip in 2016 when Italy overtakes Spain, but that will be short lived and by 2019, 20.9 million people in Spain will be shopping online.
Online shopping
The Interactive Advertising Bureau Spain in collaboration with digital commerce experts Viko, online cultural magazine Cultura Inquieta and Ambito Cultural of El Corte Inglés has published a joint study showing that 75% of Spanish digital consumers make an online purchase at least once a month and that 20% make purchases at least four times a month.
What do Spanish digital consumers buy?
Technology and communications products came top of the shopping list with 68% of consumers listing mobile phones, computers and associated products as the main online purchase. This category was closely followed by leisure and culture at 66% and by travel and hotels at 64%. The figures then drop dramatically to 48% for general fashion items, and more specifically sportswear at 28% and shoes at 34%.
Where do consumers in Spain find online product information?
Here’s an interesting statistic: 49% of consumers said that they used blogs or forums as the source of product information that prompted them to buy, whereas only 36% were influenced by the brand website, and a mere 26% by digital advertising, or mailings. After blogs, friends and family were important sources of information at 45%.
The value of Spain’s online retail sales
The retail value of sales is expected to hit $15.89 billion in 2015. This is only 5% of Spain’s total retail sales at the moment, however, by 2019, it is estimated that the online sales figure will reach $23.23 billion, which is 7.2% of all retail sales.
The potential for online consumer growth is something that Peppermint Spain’s clients need to bear in mind and we advise them, where possible, to increase the opportunities that customers have to purchase services and products online.
If you need an new website, and if you want an ecommerce strategy, please contact Jade Thompson at Peppermint Spain on +34 951 316 553 or mail: info@peppermintcreate.com