In Spain, mobile-friendly commerce is a must and PayPal is a popular way to pay online.
The Spanish ecommerce market continues to rebound, reporting an energetic CAGR of 14.2% expected through 2025. After years of sluggish growth from high unemployment and economic downturns, Spanish commerce is coming into its own. Spaniards will look abroad when shopping, with 61% making made cross-border purchases. This has led to an international commerce market valued at over $44 billion (€42 billion).
Our data revealed that 82% of surveyed consumers make a mobile purchase at least monthly and 33% do so weekly, making mobile-friendly commerce a must in Spain. PayPal is very popular in Spain, with over two-thirds (67%) of Spanish consumers reporting using it for a recent online purchase.
About the Study
In March and April 2022 Rapyd conducted a research study to understand the financial habits, payment method choices, considerations and preferences of consumers in nine European countries. We surveyed 4,286 online consumers in Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain and the UK. Consumer respondents represent a full spectrum of household income levels from low to high across each country. Household Income questions were presented in locally relevant amounts and currencies. The survey was conducted online amongst household decision-makers over 18 years of age. To participate, the survey respondents must have made a purchase online in the last month.
Popular eCommerce Products and Payment Methods
The Spanish ecommerce market sees frequent clothing and accessory purchases (72%), followed by groceries (59%) and food (58%). Most consumers bought restaurant takeout (75%) and groceries (62%) via mobile, while less frequent purchases like electronics (52%) and travel products (51%) were mostly purchased via desktop in Spain.
Online Payment Methods and Preferences
PayPal leads the way for online payment methods in Spain with 67% of respondents recently using it for online checkout. This is followed by cards, another popular choice for Spanish shoppers, with 51% using credit and 40% using debit for recent online purchases. eWallets, Apple Pay and Google Pay are also gaining in use, with 15% and 14% of people in Spain reporting recently using them online. One-third of respondents pick PayPal as their first-choice method, while 24% choose debit cards.
In-Person Payment Methods and Preferences
While 64% of respondents used cash for recent in-store purchases, only 21% consider it their first-choice payment method. In Spain, a little more than one-third (35%) of respondents’ first preference is a debit card, with credit cards as the next most popular choice. For digital wallets, 9% selected PayPal as their preferred payment method, while 6% chose Apple Pay.
Spain’s Most Popular Fintech Apps
We asked Spanish consumers which of the following types of online financial applications have you used in the past month?