These are the 24 most important B2C marketplaces for selling to SPAIN!
We took a closer look at the fourth-largest e-commerce market in Europe and, after studying a wide range of data sources, we have once again identified the most relevant marketplaces for our new country quadrant. This was an exciting undertaking, as the Spanish e-commerce market is in a state of flux. Our country quadrant show the most relevant marketplaces in Spain.
The market
Like most Western and Central European economies, Spain experienced a crisis in 2021, but e-commerce recovered much faster here than in other countries. In 2023, Spanish e-commerce experienced growth of 11.3 per cent, and this year market researchers expect a 13.2 per cent increase in sales of physical goods to 32.6 billion euros. This is also due to the fact that e-commerce still has plenty of room to grow here: the online share of total retail sales is currently just 12 per cent. Around 60 per cent of Spaniards shop online, but their number is growing strongly year on year. The strongest online categories are electronics and fashion. However, categories that are underdeveloped online in other countries (e.g. food and DIY) are already going strong in Spanish e-commerce.
Marketplace Development
The Spanish e-commerce market has only really gained momentum with the coronavirus pandemic, which is why the development of the marketplace landscape is only a few years old. Around 30 per cent of total Spanish e-commerce sales currently take place via online marketplaces – and the trend is growing rapidly. This is another reason why most relevant marketplaces in Spain – similar to the Italian market – are being hosted by foreign players, with a few exceptions.
The generalists
Amazon is by far the leading force in Spanish e-commerce and dominates all major sectors. AliExpress is the second most important generalist. The Alibaba subsidiary Miravia has also quickly established itself on the market, thanks to a lot of marketing capital, and is an interesting address, especially for the fashion, electronics, home & living and sports categories. The only relevant domestic generalist is El Corte Ingles, Spain’s third-largest online shop and marketplace.
The Chinese front
Shemu has taken the Spanish market by storm. Shein has catapulted itself to second place among the top-selling online shops in Spain within two years and dominates the fashion industry. It’s no wonder that the Shein marketplace, which only opened in April 2024, has already thrived in Spain and that many products from Western premium brands have found their way to the Spanish offshoot via a wide range of channels. This makes the Spanish market a difficult one for fashion brands because it is extremely price-sensitive. Temu has also become indispensable in Spanish e-commerce after only a year on the market.
The specialists
Local heroes are also rare when it comes to individual categories.
For fashion and shoes, Zalando is still relevant behind Shein, and the Spanish shopping club Privalia can be interesting for individual product ranges.
Electronics goes mostly to Media-Markt, with local hero PC Componentes forming a strong runner-up. Backmarket excells with Spanish second hand electronics.
Home & Living is firmly in French hands with the players Conforama, Maisons du Monde and Carrefour. Carrefour.es also plays an interesting role in a number of other categories, often as part of the top 10.
The situation is similar for DIY & Garden: the French players Leroy Merlin, ManoMano and Brico Depot each have strong Spanish subsidiaries.
In Sports, Decathlon is leading. MediaMarkt is a good adresse for all sports equipment with a plug. The former JD Sports subsidiary Sprinter is still well established in the Spanish market despite surviving insolvency at the beginning of the year, with over 100 brick-and-mortar stores and a marketplace shop.
Beauty & Care products are finding their place in Spanish subsidiaries of foreign marketplace giants, e.g. PromoFarma (belongs to DocMorris), Carrefour or Alcampo (belongs to Auchan).
Do you have anything to add to our country quadrant for Spain? Let us know!