Packlink recently presented the results of its survey “2021 eCommerce consumption trends: Europeans’ online consumption habitss “. The report represents the largest study of e-commerce consumption carried out to date, with more than 5,000 respondents from Spain, Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, on the occasion of the celebration of the fifth edition of the Packlink eCommerceDay.
According to the report, eight out of ten Spaniards (80% of respondents) claims to have performed any online purchase during the last month, and more than half of the survey participants (56%) say they have spent more than 50 euros on these purchases. Figures that confirm the consolidation of electronic commerce among Spanish consumer habits, which only during 2020 registered 51.6 billion euros in sales, according to data from the Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC), a record figure up to the date driven by the pandemic.
“Our figures from the last Christmas campaign, when we registered a 36% increase in purchases through electronic commerce, had already given us clues that the consumption habits of Spaniards were changing. The effect of the pandemic on this change in behavior is undeniable. But what these data show, now that there are practically no restrictions in our country, is that this accelerated change has come to stay “, says Noelia Lázaro, Packlink’s Marketing Director.
The profile of the Spanish digital consumer
Despite the good data on ecommerce consolidation in Spain, the study shows that we are Europeans who less spend on ecommerce (only 20% spend more than 100 euros a month online), only behind the British (16%). In contrast, there are France (27%), Germany (26%) and Italy (25%), whose inhabitants They claim to allocate more than 100 euros a month to online purchases.
But what is the profile of the Spanish digital consumer? According to the Packlink study, it is a man between 40 and 50 years, who spends more than fifty euros a month on their online purchases and usually uses them to buy gifts, clothing or technological products.
The study also indicates that we Spaniards are the ones who most concentrate our purchases in sales periods or large commercial events, such as Black Friday and Christmas campaigns. Only during the months of November and December, these events accumulate almost 30% of global sales in terms of turnover and continue to be our preferred occasion in 67% of cases, with technological products (52%) and garments. clothing (48%) still topping the best-seller lists among Spaniards.
An evolving Spanish market
Despite the fact that electronic commerce continues to be a phenomenon of relative recent penetration in the Spanish market, a series of trends are beginning to be observed that allow us to glimpse the possible evolution of eCommerce in our country. An example of this is the phenomenon of Amazondependence, that is, the preference for large marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay or Aliexpress to make our purchases online compared to the growing supply of small and medium businesses or specialized stores.
Despite the fact that almost two out of every three Spaniards (64%) still prefer the marketplace option, Spain remains well below other markets such as Italian (89%) or German (85%). However, incipient categories such as supermarkets (1%), and small stores and private businesses (3%) continue to be a minority option and with a wide margin for growth.
Another aspect in which the Spanish consumer stands out compared to its European neighbors is the penetration of the food category among the products purchased, with 22% of Spanish respondents claiming to purchase these products online, compared to 11% of British consumers and 8% of the Germans. In addition, Spaniards continue to trust product reviews (46%) as the most decisive factor when making an online purchase, while only 1% of those surveyed claim to follow the advice of influencers when opting for a product.
“Ecommerce is a phenomenon of relative recent incorporation to the Spanish market. However, 2021 has been confirmed as the year of the consolidation of electronic commerce and everything indicates that we are on the path of economic recovery. In this sense, we can intuit among the trends for next year a strong increase in ecommerces of small and medium businesses “, highlights Noelia Lázaro, Packlink’s marketing director.