Spanish Companies increase their Purchases and Sales via Internet

According to the latest data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI), 98% of Spanish companies with 10 or more employees had an internet connection in January 2013. This means that the percentage of companies that have internet has increased by 8.9% since 2005. Among the companies that have internet, almost every one of them (98.5%) has broadband internet.

On the other hand, approximately 72% of the companies have a website. In companies of 250 or more employees, this percentage reaches 93.8%.

With the services offered online concerning electronic commerce, 15.2% of the companies offer the possibility to order or book online and 9.1% offer online payment.

 Services offered by companies with a website in 2013 (*)%
Presentation of the company93,6
Declaration of the privacy policy or certification related to website security63,2
Access to product catalogs or price lists56,4
Advertisements of job offers or ability to receive job applications online21,9
Option for ordering or booking online15,2
Option for payment online9,1
Possibility for clients to personalise  or design products6,8
(*) Companies offering a web service

Internet-based Purchases and Sales

Twenty-two point six per cent of companies with 10 or more employees made purchases through electronic commerce in 2012. Online purchases represent 20.3% of the total purchases, and this percentage has increased by 6.5 percentage points since 2008.

On the other hand, 14.4% of companies with 10 or more employees made sales through e-commerce in 2012. The electronic sales represent 14% of the total sales. This percentage has increased by 4.4 percentage points since 2008.

At any rate, companies do not only use new technologies for electronic commerce. Other uses are rapidly expanding including social networks (29.1%), Cloud-Computing solutions (19.8%), and interaction with public administrations through the Internet (90.1%).

Comparison with Europe

When comparing the statistical data of e-commerce at the European level, in 2012 13% of Spanish companies were selling online. This data is below the European Union average, which is 14%.

When compared with data from 2011, the percentage of companies that sold via the Internet has increased by 18.6%. Besides this, the difference with the European Union average has declined by one percentage point compared to the previous year.

On the other hand, in Spain, the percentage representing electronic commerce in the company’s turnover in 2012 reached 14%. This number is one percentage point below the European Union average.

 Turnover for Electronic Commerce in 2012% (*)
Czech Republic24
Luxembourg23
Ireland21
Sweden20
Hungary19
United Kingdom19
Finland18
Germany17
Croatia17
European Union (28)15
Belgium14
Spain14
France14
Estonia13
Malta13
The Netherlands13
Austria13
Slovenia13
Lithuania12
Portugal12
Slovakia12
Poland10
Latvia7
Italy6
Cyprus5
Romania4
Bulgaria3
Denmark:
Greece:
(*) Percentage of the total turnover of companies of 10 or more employees
Data not available Source: Eurostat

For more information on purchases and sales of Spanish companies via the Internet,

Please note that this article is not intended to provide legal advice.

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