Portugal is registering a boom in online shopping. According to a new study, the amount of money spent on e-shopping has “doubled” between 2010 and 2014, increasing from around €1.5 billion to €3 billion.
The upturn is taking its toll on physical stores, whose sales have dropped 2% between 2008 and 2014.
The study – conducted by SIBS, the entity in charge of the country’s Multibanco ATM machines – shows that “hotel bookings and plane tickets” represent the bulk of online purchases in Portugal and the rest of Europe.
Clothing and shoes are the next most purchased items by Portuguese, followed by the wide-ranging category of CDs, DVDs, videogames and books.
Household supplies, beauty and health products, food and drinks and DIY and gardening products complete the list, with most purchases made on Portuguese websites (24%), followed by websites in the UK (23%), Spain and Ireland (9% each).
In all categories, credit cards were the most popular method of payment (53%).
Although Portugal has registered a “great evolution in terms of e-shopping”, SIBS says “there is still room for development”.
