The inaugural Ecommerce Moment conference in Barcelona has revealed critical data and strategic shifts defining the Spanish digital marketplace. Held at the Reial Cercle Art\u00edstic and organized by Marketing4eCommerce, the event brought together over 120 sector professionals to dissect the evolving landscape, where convenience, payment security, and retail media are emerging as dominant forces.<\/p>\n
Ramon Montanera, Data Strategy Director at Elogia, presented a comprehensive “Radiography of the Online Shopper 2026,” depicting a market entering a phase of maturity and stability. The data confirms that online shopping is now mainstream, with 77% of Spanish internet users\u2014approximately 27.4 million people\u2014making digital purchases.<\/p>\n
A striking 80% of these shoppers use their mobile devices to complete transactions, solidifying the smartphone’s role as the primary commerce tool. However, a generational divide persists, with baby boomers still showing a preference for desktop computers. This underscores the necessity for retailers to maintain optimized, responsive experiences across all devices.<\/p>\n
The fundamental motivations for shopping online remain consistent: convenience (96%), product variety (92%), and promotional offers (87%). Yet, Montanera highlighted a growing counter-trend: showrooming. Now, 13% of consumers prefer to physically inspect a product in a store before searching for the best online deal, a figure that has increased by six percentage points from the previous year. This behavior challenges pure-play online retailers and reinforces the value of a seamless omnichannel strategy.<\/p>\n
Perhaps one of the most critical insights for conversion optimization lies in the checkout process. Seven out of ten consumers consider the payment experience “decisive” in their decision to complete an online purchase. While 54% feel very secure when paying on ecommerce platforms, Montanera emphasized there is significant room for improvement in boosting overall consumer confidence. The future, he noted, hinges on an omnichannel approach where the payment experience is coherent across all touchpoints, supported by emerging technologies like augmented reality and live shopping, which are already gaining traction in Spain.<\/p>\n
A subsequent panel discussion, moderated by Sergi Farr\u00f3 of Banco Santander, delved into the nuanced art of selling intangible experiences online. Featuring executives from PortAventura World, Casa Batll\u00f3, Cinesa, and Hanaley, the conversation revealed diverse strategies for translating real-world value into digital conversions.<\/p>\n
For experience-based businesses, the product is an emotion. Raquel Florenza, Head of Marketing & Ecommerce at PortAventura World, stated plainly, “Our clients are buying an experience.” This has led them to heavily leverage User-Generated Content (UGC) within their marketing strategy, allowing potential visitors to see authentic enjoyment through the eyes of peers.<\/p>\n
Victor Hern\u00e1ndez of Casa Batll\u00f3 echoed this sentiment, explaining that their website must “be capable of generating emotions.” High-quality, aspirational imagery and video that provoke a desire to share in the depicted experience are paramount. He noted that while social media might not always drive direct conversions, it profoundly impacts the final purchase decision.<\/p>\n
Alfonso Casta\u00f1eda from Cinesa presented his company as a perfect example of online\/offline omnichannel integration: “You buy online, but you enjoy offline.” Their move to digital was driven by agility and its facilitation of impulse purchases. Casta\u00f1eda stressed that “a website must be understood as a living entity, requiring daily care and attention.”<\/p>\n
Carla Tarr\u00e9s of Hanaley offered a different perspective, rooted in the luxury sector. “What we sell on our website is tranquility and transparency,” she explained. This focus on trust extends to the payment process, where reducing friction is essential. The panel agreed that expanding payment options\u2014including digital wallets, Bizum, and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions\u2014has been a direct driver of improved conversion rates, even as challenges remain with high-ticket installment plans.<\/p>\n
A second panel, moderated by Jose Antonio Ant\u00f3n of Mastercard, tackled the rapidly evolving world of retail media\u2014the practice of retailers selling advertising space on their own digital properties. With contributions from La Sirena, Tropicfeel, and an Amazon consultant, the discussion centered on scaling revenue without solely increasing acquisition spend.<\/p>\n
Jordi Ord\u00f3\u00f1ez, an Amazon Consultant, focused on the closed ecosystem of the marketplace giant. He emphasized the value of having data across the entire Amazon sales funnel, from web activity to Amazon Audio and Prime Video. However, he injected a dose of realism: “Right now, advertising on Amazon thinking about launching ads outside of Amazon to drive traffic to your own website is science fiction. Advertising done on Amazon must be to convert on Amazon.”<\/p>\n
Nacho Fern\u00e1ndez of Tropicfeel shared insights from a brand heavily invested in platforms like Zalando and Meta. He revealed the impact of soaring CPMs (Cost Per Mille) in 2024, which at times doubled, squeezing margins. His key takeaway: “In today’s advertising, content is key, and in video, the first three seconds are crucial.” He disclosed a revealing statistic: out of a thousand active ad creatives, typically only ten generate 90% of the revenue. The challenge, he noted, is “knowing how to get to those ten through the thousand tests.”<\/p>\n
Pere Guardiola of La Sirena presented a case study in owned retail media. The supermarket chain successfully sells advertising space on its own website, with a remarkable 90% repeat rate among investing brands. Guardiola advocates for an omnichannel retail media strategy, selling packages that include both digital and in-store advertising assets, thereby offering brands a holistic path to their customers.<\/p>\n
The event concluded with a candid keynote from Mireia Trepat, co-founder and former CEO of Freshly Cosmetics. She chronicled the brand’s journey from a kitchen-table idea inspired by natural soap-making to a major player in natural cosmetics, offering hard-won lessons on growth, resilience, and leadership.<\/p>\n
Trepat revealed that their initial positioning as “premium natural cosmetics” failed to resonate, forcing a complete narrative overhaul. As growth accelerated, they faced the strategic dilemma of moving from a 100% online model. In 2019, they launched physical retail stores not merely for sales, but to maintain complete control over the customer experience\u2014a crucial move for a brand built on trust and quality.<\/p>\n
She issued stark warnings about the dangers of expanding too quickly across multiple products and markets simultaneously, noting that “growth consumes cash.” Maintaining financial discipline and liquidity to anticipate risk scenarios became non-negotiable. Furthermore, scaling the team post-COVID without diluting the company’s original culture proved to be a lengthy and challenging process of reconstruction.<\/p>\n
Mireia Trepat’s final reflections centered on a leadership philosophy built on learning to prioritize, delegate, and, above all, accept uncertainty. She asserted that building a business is not about having all the answers, but about continuing to move forward despite doubts. Success, she concluded, comes from putting “soul and mind” into the project, surrounding oneself with the right people, and working with the passion that illuminates your eyes when creating value for others. The insights from Barcelona chart a course for an industry where data, experience, and adaptability are no longer optional, but the very foundation of sustainable success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Spain’s booming ecommerce scene is revealed: 77% of users now shop online, driven by convenience and secure payments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":90339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cards.overcentral.com\/cards\/en\/19977.png","fifu_image_alt":"Spanish Ecommerce Market Reaches Maturity as 77% of Internet Users Shop Online","footnotes":""},"categories":[349],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-articles"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cards.overcentral.com\/cards\/en\/19977.png","fifu_image_alt":"Spanish Ecommerce Market Reaches Maturity as 77% of Internet Users Shop Online","fifu_redirection_url":"https:\/\/ecommercegermany.com\/blog\/european-ecommerce-overview-spain\/","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}