AI-generated summary
E-commerce in Spain has experienced significant growth, with online sales turnover reaching 39,292 million euros in 2018, marking the highest level since records began in 2013. Annual growth exceeds 20%, driven by major players like Amazon and Inditex, as well as a surge in startups that offer direct sales, intermediary platforms, or technological services for e-commerce. Notably, 43% of Spanish startups focus on e-commerce, attracting strong investor interest, especially in Barcelona. Success stories such as Hawkers and Privalia exemplify the rapid growth potential in this sector. Fashion ranks as the third-largest e-commerce sector in Spain, following travel agencies and airline ticket sales, while other significant areas include hotel bookings, gambling, and subscription TV services, the latter having grown nearly fourfold in four years.
Looking ahead, several trends are shaping the future of Spanish e-commerce. Omnichannel strategies, integrating online and offline sales, are increasingly adopted, with many businesses using technologies like mobile apps and mobile payments to enhance customer experience. While the majority of companies do not plan immediate international expansion, a substantial portion aims to enter multiple foreign markets. Marketing remains a priority, with firms focusing on improving conversion rates, driving direct website traffic, and boosting brand awareness, often increasing their advertising budgets by up to 25%. Artificial intelligence also emerges as a promising tool to enhance marketing and logistics within e-commerce.
With annual growth of more than 20%, e-commerce is booming in Spain.
Good news for businesses linked to e-commerce: in 2018, the turnover generated by sales through the Internet reached 39,292 million euros, reaching the highest since 2013 (the first year that the National Commission on Markets and Competition includes in its statistics).
With annual growth of more than 20%, e-commerce is booming in Spain. In the heat of the big players in the sector (Amazon, Ebay, Alibaba, El Corte Inglés, Inditex…) Different startups have proliferated, whose business model oscillates between direct online sales, platforms that act as intermediaries, or services and technology for other e-commerce.
The latest Startup Ecosystem Overview report (prepared by the Mobile World Capital Foundation) indicates that 43% of startups in the country have built their business model around ecommerce. The same document also reflects that businesses specialising in e-commerce are very attractive to investors, at least those located in Barcelona.
Hawkers is probably one of the leading companies in ecommerce. The online platform, which sells low-cost glasses, closed a financing round of 50 million euros (in the record time of one month) just three years after starting its journey. A few years ago, Privalia had already broken the mould with the online sale of stock of fashion brands. Four years after starting, the company went from zero to one hundred and ended 2010 with a turnover of 133.1 million euros.
What is the e-commerce customer looking for?
In Spain , fashion is the third most important sector in the ecommerce business. In terms of turnover, it is only surpassed by travel agencies and tour operators, followed by the sale of airline tickets. The CNMC data also highlights the booking of hotels and accommodation, betting and gambling, and the purchase of air transport tickets.
Among the ten sectors that generate the most business in the field of e-commerce we also find the subscription of television channels, which in 2018 reached a volume of 888.79 million euros, almost four times more than the business generated four years ago.
How will trends evolve?
These are some of the trends to take into account for ecommerce owners.
1. Omnichannel.
More than half (55%) of online stores say they also operate a physical store. This is according to the Adigital report,
The startup Laagam is an example of this. It was born as a digital native brand with ecommerce that has also added a physical store.
2. Internationalization.
While 57% of ecommerce businesses in Spain state that they did not plan to start operations abroad during 2019, another 24% say that they planned to expand into two or more markets.
3. Advertising investment.
What purposes are hidden behind the marketing strategies of e-commerce in Spain? According to the report, the three priority objectives of these companies are to improve conversion (purchases/visits), generate direct traffic to their web platform (pillar of their business) and raise awareness of their brand. Most businesses, in fact, plan to increase their marketing budget by up to 25%.
Artificial intelligence, the latest trend analysed by the Future Trends Forum, is positioned as a technology with the potential to improve e-commerce marketing and logistics.
