E-commerce was the only window to buy many products during the months of confinement, when many businesses had to close to reduce covid-19 infections. But it was also the way for people most vulnerable to the virus to receive the most basic products at home without having to risk going to the supermarket.
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This explains that more than half of the products bought by Catalans during confinement were food and beverages. At 54%, it is the best-selling category between April and June. Far behind are entertainment and culture (35%), household products (34%), and technology and communications (28%). Obviously, the desire to distract oneself and to undertake renovations also became very evident during confinement, in addition to the need for good devices to be able to telework or follow classes from home.
Fashion (22%) and footwear (20%) have not been the most popular categories, considering that little could be shown off during those months, nor have travel, one of the products that sold the most online a year ago. At the state level, in 2019 they were in fourth position and now they are at the bottom ---a position they also occupy in Catalunya---.
Without a doubt, demand has also shifted to supply. Businesses have not only adapted their schedules and space to the new restrictions, redistributing them to comply with capacity limits or adjusting them to the curfew, but they have also taken advantage of the crisis to innovate and venture into electronic commerce.
Half of Catalan companies increased their digital marketing during the summer, while 31% started making home deliveries and 13% created an e-commerce website. It was also the time to launch a website (15%) or update it (13%). Looking ahead to the Christmas campaign, half of the companies have intensified digital marketing and their presence on social networks and 10% have prepared with a new e-commerce website.
A sector that represents up to 1.5% of GDP
In Catalunya, e-commerce turnover already exceeds 3,773 million euros, a figure equivalent to 1.5% of GDP, according to a study by Acció. In total, there are 827 companies dedicated to this activity, with 18,330 employees.
Mainly, they are marketplace-type platforms (41% of the total), and brands that were born to sell their products in digital format (32%). But there are also companies that provide solutions for other companies in the field of e-commerce (11%), technological developers (9%) or logistics (4%), not including physical companies or stores that, later, have also started selling their products online.