Spain is one of the biggest economies in Europe. But the crisis has, unfortunately, no mercy and hit Spain, too. Its GDP stands at the level of $1349.12 billion. The market is large, but therefore the competition is fierce. Consumers have a lot of choices when it comes to products in the stationery market. Despite the love of its culture and native products, Spain has many global items available in stores.
But what about ecommerce? Is it has big potential? How about cross border shopping? What should you know before entering this market? You will find answers to these and other questions below.
Spanish ecommerce overview
Revenue in the Spanish ecommerce market is estimated to hit US$21,388m by the end of the year and US$28,665m by 2024. It is placed 13th in the world’s largest ecommerce market ranking.
This year, user penetration stands at the level of 60%, but it is predicted to reach almost 76.8% in four years.
source:https://ecommercedb.com/en/markets/es/all
As you can see, the undeniable favorite is Amazon. Its net sales crossed US$ 2,6m in 2019. El Corte Ingles, which come second, generated much lower net sales – US$620m. Third place belongs to Carrefour – US$507m. All top three are located at the .es domain.
The largest segment in Spanish ecommerce is Fashion; it generates 29% of the ecommerce revenue. It is followed by Electronics & Media, with 26%. Third place belongs to Toys, Hobby & DIY – 18%, and Food & Personal Care with 15%. The last one – Furniture & Appliances covered 11% of ecommerce revenue.
Consumer behavior in Spain
The Spaniard can undoubtedly be called a consumer society. Price is one of the main purchasing factors. Easy payments, promotions, and customer service also have a great influence here. In Spain, the e-commerce market has a huge range of possibilities – there are about 40 million people online in this country. On average, Spain consumer spends 460 euros on the Internet.
Despite the visible influence of globalization in this country and on the market, domestic products are very much appreciated by the Spaniards. One of the factors that lose its importance the most is the brand’s popularity. The young people drive this trend, they reach more and more often for new products, and they are not guided by loyalty to the brands they know.
source:https://learning.eshopworld.com/ecommerce-blog/spain-ecommerce-insights/
Over 97% of young people aged 16-24 are present on the Internet and significantly increase the popularity of e-commerce. Importantly, for a Spaniard to shop on your website, every transaction element must be clear and trustworthy. From the outset, it must be clear how much and for what to pay.
For Spanish society, caring for the environment is quite important. More and more often, consumers in this country pay attention to the origin of a given product and its impact on the environment.
source::https://learning.eshopworld.com/ecommerce-blog/spain-ecommerce-insights/
Where do Spanish people buy from? The majority of cross border shopping comes from Germany. Purchases from this country value almost US$41 billion. The second favorite country is France, US$ 33 billion. Then comes China with a purchase at the value of US$26.2 billion, Italy US$19.7 billion, and the UK – US$13.8 billion.
Payment methods in Spain
Cards run the Spanish market – this method covers over 40% of transactions. As for credit cards – there are about 1.06 cards per capita. There are many providers on the financial market that Spaniards can entrust with the production of credit cards. Besides carts, digital wallets are on the rise. This method covers almost 30% of the transaction. The Spaniards’ optimistic attitude to this payment way may bode that by 2021 it will knock cards off the podium.
source:https://www.jpmorgan.com/merchant-services/insights/reports/spain
PayPal is the most frequently chosen digital wallet by Spaniards. However, new players appear on the market – Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Amazon Pay. Their absorption into the market is constantly growing.
Bizum is a Spanish app that allows users to make payments between bank accounts. It is integrated with banking applications and enables real-time settlements. Bizum is another relatively new solution on the Spanish market, but still gaining popularity.
Payment safety
Fraud in e-commerce does not affect a significant number of people – about 1%. It may be the result of highly protected methods’ popularity – cards and digital wallets. However, such a low percentage of fraud makes many Spaniards careless, e.g., they use online banking without using security software or, worse, make payments on a public computer.
Social media in Spain
When it comes to social media, over half of Spaniards is active online. 29 million people are social media users, which means penetration in this sector stands at a level of 62%. Compared to January 2019, the number of active social media users increased by 3.1%
source: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-spain
Spanish people spend almost 6 hours online, of which nearly 2 hours on social media. The top three social media in Spain are YouTube, WhatsApp, and Facebook.
source: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-spain
You can reach 21 million people via Facebook Ads. Over 97% use Facebook on their mobiles, so keep this in mind while creating ads and posts. When it comes to Instagram – you can reach 16 million people there and 7.50 million on Twitter.
Logistics in Spain
Spain’s logistics map’s main points are Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante, Bilbao, and Valencia. Logistic companies in this country provide logistics & supply chains, logistics management, 3rd party logistics services, freight forwarding, packaging, warehousing, storage and distribution, corporate logistics, and pallet trucks.
When it comes to delivery providers, there is no one noticeable leader. UPS covers the largest amount of shipment – 19%. Then comes DHL – 16% and GLS 9%.
source: https://ecommercedb.com/en/markets/es/all
To wrap up
Spain is undoubtedly a country where ecommerce can grow. If you are planning to enter this market, remember about consumer preferences and market conditions that were presented above.
We keep our fingers crossed for your business, and if you want to find out more about other countries, here are some samples – pieces of content about Benelux and France. But there are more!
