Closed 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 by only one percentage point in 2022 (up to 68%), compared to the growth of 1.4 points in the previous year and 7.3 points in 2020.
"This indicator shows that e-commerce has reached the stage of maturity and that it has little room for growth in the future. Having overcome the health crisis, it is clear that the consumer continues to value the physical purchase, physical contact with the product, immediacy and close and personal treatment", comments Ana Isabel Jiménez, professor at the UOC's Economics and Business Studies.
The study, drawn up on the basis of a macro survey of the European population aged between 16 and 75, ensures that 68% of the population has bought or ordered a product through online platforms. The percentage varies significantly by country, as the graph shows. The leaders are Denmark, with 88%, the Netherlands (88%), Sweden (86%) and Ireland (85%), while in the tail are Bulgaria (41%), Romania (46%) and Italy (49%). ).
The penetration of electronic commerce in Spain is 68%, coinciding with the European Union average. 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 brake on growth shows that e-commerce is starting to reach its ceiling in Spain although it is true that in retrospect, it has grown remarkably from the 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 another sales channel, and not the only one, at the time of making the purchase", says Celina Paredes, independent consultant in transformation strategy digital specialized in SMEs. "On many occasions, the consumer only carries out the first phase of consultation via the internet and ends up making the purchase in the physical store. This is the case of the sale of cars on the internet, one of the last sectors to go digital", he points out.
By sector, 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. It is followed in that order by restaurant orders - with 19% of the total, a stable figure compared to 2021 - and the purchase of cosmetics 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 via the internet come from foreign territories with respect 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 among young consumers in favor of local trade. According to the study, consumers aged between 25 and 34 buy products from their home market in most cases (61%), while citizens aged between 55 and 74 only in 39% of cases.
