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NEARLY two-thirds of people in Spain are more likely to buy a product online if delivery is free of charge, and at least four in 10 will be more attracted to a product or service if it comes at a discount, according to recent research.
A study by Chollometro – which more or less translates as 'bargain-o-meter' – found that in 2020, around 45% of residents were more cautious when it came to spending in general, especially on non-essentials, but that 30% were expecting to buy more online in 2021 than the previous year.
Free delivery clinched sales for 65%, and discounts on the retail price did it for 43%, Chollometro reveals.
Around three in 10 said one of their main concerns was that the payment process should be quick and simple.
Communication and social media manager for Chollometro, David Gutiérrez, says: “The year 2020 saw an expansion in the profile of a consumer who wants to save money, who tightened his or her belt and did not spend money on trivial items.
“This profile of consumer pays attention to sales items, discounted goods, and tends only to buy when there are offers on.”
But although online shopping in Spain has long lagged behind the rest of the western world, and its growth – whilst steady – has been slow until the turn of the decade, the pandemic saw internet purchases soaring in comparison with physical purchases in shops, Gutiérrez says.
In fact, the greatest growth in online buying has been seen among the 25-54 age group, whose purchases on the internet have risen by 70% in the past year – particularly during the Christmas and Black Friday campaigns.
“Comfort and ease of use have been the main factors that have seen purchases via SmartPhones increase – Spain is one of the countries with the highest level of market penetration for SmartPhones per inhabitant, and this is also the most-used device nationwide for accessing the internet,” he reveals.
“Fashion – clothing and accessories – is the shopping channel that is now leading online purchases, accounting for 45% of the total.”
Around 70% of internet users have made at least one of their online purchases via their mobile phone or tablet – for services as well as products.
Online entertainment service purchases rose in 2020 by 45%, and 90% of internet users are signed up to a streaming service.
With bars and restaurants being closed or limited in their trade for most of the past 12 months, ordering takeaway food online has also taken off, showing that whether or not they are able to physically open, eateries and cafés are still an integral part of the furniture for life in Spain.
On average, households in Spain made 1.9 takeaway orders per month.
SmartPhones 'play a very significant part' in online buying for home-delivered food and leisure products and services, Gutiérrez reveals.
The categories that saw the fewest online purchases were training- and education-related, and mobility-related, such as cars and motorcycles.
EIGHT in 10 people in Spain use social media every day, and are connected for a total of two hours, according to the latest worldwide research into online habits.