In the drawer are all the forecasts that during the pandemic ensured that e-commerce would advance in such a way that it would definitively end traditional commerce. According to the latest results from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, online shopping advanced only one percentage point in 2022 (up to 68%), compared to growth of 1.4 points the previous year and 7.3 points. of 2020.
“This indicator shows that e-commerce has reached the stage of maturity and that it has little room for growth in the future. Once the health crisis has been overcome, it is clear that consumers continue to value physical purchases, physical contact with the product, immediacy and close, personal treatment," says Ana Isabel Jiménez, a professor at the UOC's Department of Economics and Business.
The study, prepared on the basis of a macro-survey of the European population between the ages of 16 and 75, ensures that 68% of the population has purchased or ordered a product through online platforms. The percentage varies significantly depending on the country, as the graph shows. The leaders are Denmark, with 88%, the Netherlands (88%), Sweden (86%) and Ireland (85%), while Bulgaria (41%), Romania (46%) and Italy (49%) are at the bottom. .
The penetration of electronic commerce in Spain is 68%, coinciding with the average for the European Union. Compared to the last year, this percentage has grown slightly, going from 66.6 to 67.9%, which means an increase of 1.3 points. It contrasts with the increase of 4 points experienced from 2020 to 2021. This slowdown in growth shows that e-commerce is beginning to peak in Spain, although it is true that in retrospect, it has grown significantly from 40 points in 2012. to the current 68%. "After the progress experienced during the pandemic, we have entered the maturity phase and the slight growth will come as the new generations join the market," says Jiménez.
The results also show that e-commerce "has established itself as one more sales channel, and not the only one, at the time of making the purchase act," says Celina Paredes, an independent consultant in digital transformation strategy specializing in SMEs. . “On many occasions, the consumer only carries out the first phase of consultation through the Internet and ends up making the purchase in the physical store. This is the case of the sale of cars over the internet, one of the last sectors to go digital, ”she points out.
By sectors, the report highlights the dominance of the purchase of fashion items (clothing, shoes, accessories) above the rest of the categories. 42% of consumers claim to have placed orders for these products, compared to 43% the previous year. They are followed in this order by orders from restaurants –with 19% of the total, a stable figure compared to 2021– and the purchase of cosmetic and beauty items, with 17% of the total.
Regarding the origin of the product, the report highlights that practically half (49%) of the articles or services that are purchased through the Internet come from foreign territories compared to the country of origin of the consumer. In 19% of the cases they come from other EU countries and in 12% from non-EU countries (while the origin of the rest is unknown). These results also demonstrate a change in trend in the young consumer in favor of local commerce. According to the study, consumers between the ages of 25 and 34 buy products from their domestic market in most cases (61%) while citizens between the ages of 55 and 74 only in 39% of the cases.
