Portugal is the European country where consumers are most sensitive to price when shopping online

Portuguese consumers are the most price sensitive when it comes to online shopping, compared to other European countries. This is what the most recent e-Shopper Barometer 2023 from Geopost, a European group of which the express transport operator DPD is part, concludes.

According to this report – currently the largest and most complete survey on e-commerce in Portugal and Europe – 71% of regular Portuguese e-shoppers consider that buying online is a way of saving money, compared to 65% for the European average. Numbers that reflect the impact of inflation on the Portuguese wallet, for whom price is the most important factor in their purchasing decisions (76%), or for those who always look for a good deal (79%).

Another way to justify the sensitivity of regular Portuguese e-shoppers to price is related to the main drivers for online purchasing, where criteria related to price are the most significant: 49% admit to buying online due to the existence of free deliveries; 28% value that there are no hidden fees added to the final price of the product; while 22% mention free returns. Another trend reflected in the study has to do with the fact that the majority of regular e-shoppers use foreign websites to buy online, especially to find better deals, even more than the European average (73% in Portugal vs. 58% in Europe) . Spain (61%), China (58%) and the United Kingdom (33%) were the countries where the Portuguese purchased the most online.

For Olivier Establet, CEO of DPD Portugal, “It is clear the impact that inflation had on the consumption behavior of the Portuguese in 2023. If the price was already a major concern for the local market, the numbers now presented show us a context where this concern for the best possible deal is mirrored in various dimensions, from being careful to buy during periods when discounts are more significant – such as Black Friday and sales – to foreign websites and apps as a way to always buy cheaper”.

Growth of e-commerce consumption

Alongside this scenario, the e-Shopper Barometer 2023 shows that, after a decrease in e-commerce consumers in 2022, this indicator grew again in 2023 (71% in 2023 vs. 66% in 2022), reaching positive values, despite remaining below the European average (76%). Last year alone, Portuguese online consumers received four orders on average in the previous month, having purchased an average of 11 times throughout the year.

According to the report, fashion (59%), beauty and health (51%) and footwear (41%) were the product categories that e-shoppers purchased most in 2023. On the other hand, the book and technology/electronics were the only ones to register a drop in the list of types of goods most purchased by Portuguese people online.

Another highlight of this study is online C2C purchases (private to private). Although Portugal continues to have a lower percentage than that recorded in Europe in terms of the number of consumers using C2C platforms (60% in Portugal vs. 72% in Europe), the truth is that 1/3 of regular e-shoppers At a national level, they indicate that purchases of second-hand products have increased, a trend confirmed by the increase in the purchase frequency of those who buy on C2C platforms: 48% of regular e-shoppers reveal that they buy on these platforms, doing so, on average, 11 times a year (3 more times than in 2022). The reasons behind second-hand purchases are once again linked to cost, with 65% of respondents saying it is cheaper than buying new items, while 42% highlight the fact that this type of commerce supports a more responsible economy. For this process, social networks continue to play an important role, being used by 8 out of 10 e-shoppers.

Delivery

Regarding the delivery process, the report highlights that home deliveries are losing weight to Out-of-Home (OOH) deliveries, the use of which continues to grow and show positive development, with 27% of e -regular shoppers to use at least one OOH delivery location, especially when it comes to lockers. It can also be seen that OOH users are, for the most part, younger and buy more categories of products online than regular consumers.

In this context, Olivier Establet comments: “It is interesting to see how, for the first time, home deliveries, despite maintaining leadership, fell by 12 percentage points between 2022 and 2023. A scenario that reflects a growing fragmentation of consumer profiles and needs, in which brands and delivery operators will have to respond, by enabling itself with an increasingly diverse, simplified and convenient delivery offer for its customers, supported by out-of-home deliveries. This is the big step for the next few years in the delivery sector, accompanied by sustainable transition”.

Highlighted in the study are also aficionados, who received an average of 5.4 orders in 2023, despite remaining below the European average in terms of the percentage of online purchases, number of orders received and impulse purchases. As with regular e-shoppers, aficionados (the most experienced and fervent buyer profile) see online shopping as an opportunity to save money, as they are very sensitive to price and, proof of this, is that the The absence of hidden fees is increasingly important for this group. 84% of consumers included in this e-shopper profile stated that their last delivery was easy, 82% that the online purchase was simple and 48% that the return was effortless.

The e-Shopper Barometer 2023 encompasses an analysis of the reality of e-commerce in Europe, which includes a total of 24,233 interviews in 22 European countries. In Portugal, the report included a total of 1,006 interviews.

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