Spain goes digital: 16% growth

Ecommerce in Spain amounted to over 84 billion euros last year, marking a 16.3 percent growth compared to 2022. Most digital trade transactions have an international dimension: in the last quarter, Spaniards spent nearly 60 percent of their money, that was spent online, abroad.

This is according to data from CNMC (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia), the national market and competition authority in Spain. To promote commerce, the watchdog also conducts market analyses, among other activities.

Largest online sectors

CNMC uses a broad definition of ecommerce in Spain. Within this, travel agencies and tour operators constitute the largest sector, accounting for 8.5 percent of all electronic commerce in the fourth quarter of 2023. Clothing follows with a share of 7.3 percent, amounting to about 6 billion euros annually, while air transport takes the third spot (5.5 percent share).

Spaniards spent around 6 billion euros on clothing online.

In terms of the number of digital purchases, gambling leads the way. In the last quarter of last year, the tally stood at 432 million transactions, representing a growth of over 15 percent.

Cross-border boom

In that last quarter of 2023, only 40.1 percent of the digital transaction value remained in Spain: the remaining 59.9 percent flowed to foreign entities. This amounts to 13.6 billion euros in three months, most of which was spent at sellers in other EU countries. Spanish consumers especially favor online stores from other member states for their clothing purchases.

Only 4 out of 10 digitally spent euros remain in Spain.

The cross-border share of Spanish online transactions is growing (plus 19 percent). Meanwhile, Spanish online merchants are also increasingly earning revenue from foreign customers, but the volumes are small: far more euros flow out of Spain to other countries than vice versa.

Amazon in Spain

Amazon is the largest player in the Spanish digital market. It just recorded a gross annual revenue of 7.1 billion euros last year thanks to its activities in the country.