E-commerce in Spain, remarkable growth
The Spanish ecommerce market has seen remarkable growth in recent years, with an increasing number of consumers turning to online shopping. According to the most recent data from the Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC), e-commerce sales in Spain exceeded 18.190 million euros (USD $19.5 million) in the 2nd quarter of 2022, representing an increase of 33% over the previous year.
As e-commerce becomes the norm, it is no longer enough to just have an online presence. Businesses must also continually adapt to optimize their conversion rates and meet evolving customer expectations. In this article, we will focus on five critical findings on conversions in the Spanish ecommerce market in 2022, based on the research study by Flat 101.
What is the average e-commerce conversion rate in Spain?
How can I improve my e-commerce conversion rate? It is THE business metric that most concerns e-commerce managers.
However, in order to do so, it is equally as important to understand where your online business stands against the competition, through performance benchmarking or by other means. According to Flat 101, the average e-commerce conversion rate in Spain is 1.291%.
Although the number above may seem low, there are some factors that can explain it:
- Some sectors may have low conversions but a much higher average cart value. Online fashion retailers entice customers with frequent sales, while stores that sell household appliances rely on big ticket purchases which require more deliberate decision-making.
- Due to the complexities of digital transformation for B2B and B2B2C models, many companies and customers within these segments still struggle to adopt digital transactions, or implement the most ideal solution for their business.
- Conversions for mobile and tablet devices perform less favourably compared to desktop. This is because many e-commerce websites in Spain are neither responsive nor optimized for mobile transactions.
What can be said from the above is that the factors that affect the conversion rate for an e-commerce store are within our control. Therefore these factors should be analyzed and improved to increase sales and better the overall user experience.
What is the optimal number of steps for the checkout process?
Is a one-step checkout (or single click checkout) the most appropriate solution for my e-commerce? It depends.
There are several factors to take into account when designing the checkout process of a digital business. Here are some important conclusions in the research of e-commerce conversions in Spain:
- 58% of the sample has between 1 and 3 steps, with the most commonly implemented checkout being the 3-step.
- The 3-step checkout is the one that converts the most, but only by a slight margin over the 2-step checkout.
- Conversions are 16.1% lower among online store’s with one-step checkout implemented.
Although it may seem the worst choice based on statistics, the one-step checkout has a particular advantage: it allows you to purchase items quickly, without the hassle of having to re-enter your data. This is an effective conversion tool especially for online retailers selling consumables and low-priced items, or those looking to increase conversions of recurring customers.
The relationship between search and conversions
The investigation of the utility of internal search engines of an ecommerce is of great importance because of the insight they can provide us with about our users. For example, it can reveal what terms have the most searches, the pages on which the search is performed, the number of searches per visitor / session, etc.
One of the important findings in the research on the Spanish e-commerce market is the relationship of the search engine with the conversion rate. According to Flat101, the conversion-to-sale ratio of visits using the search engine is 317% higher on average.
It is estimated that up to 30% of visitors will use the search tool of an online store. These are highly motivated shoppers who know exactly what they are looking for, and they are the 30% that businesses cannot afford to lose.
Reason for abandoning a purchase during the checkout process
Another interesting discovery in the Spanish e-commerce market pertains to the buying habits of online customers.
Flat 101 performed a survey to learn about purchase habits of e-commerce users. This sample had 500 people with gender parity, and from 18 to 65 years of age.
The majority of surveyed users considered unexpected shipping costs (70.8%) and failures in website functionality (65.7%) as the main reasons for abandonment, emphasizing the importance of usability in e-commerce.
Other noteworthy factors identified:
- a lack of or unclear product information (50.3%)
- asking for too much, unnecessary or sensitive data (46.8%)
- unclear return policy (39.9%)
- having to register first (36.3%)
- product lacks previous reviews from other customers (34.9%).
If you found this information interesting and want to learn how to improve your e-commerce conversions and user experience, get in touch with us to discover how Orienteed can help your business.