More online shoppers than ever
More than five of every ten inhabitants in Portugal were estimated to make online purchases in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic played a big role in luring Portuguese consumers to buying on the internet. In 2020, for the first time in history, the share of e-commerce users who bought something online in the previous three months exceeded 35 percent. However, these rates are usually lower than the European average. In Portugal, users still rely on the physical shopping experience to define their purchases. According to a recent survey, over one third of Portuguese consumers wanted to see an item before buying it, and one quarter missed the in-store experience when shopping online.Main e-commerce players and startups
Spanish companies such as El Corte Inglés and Zara, but also global giants Amazon and Apple, are among the leading online stores in Portugal based on net e-commerce sales. When it comes to e-retailers headquartered in the Iberian country, Worten - Equipamentos para o Lar S.A. is a clear leader, most notably in the electronics and media segment.In recent years, Portugal has also spawned a generation of successful e-commerce startups. Barkyn, an online marketplace for dog care and wellness products based in Porto, for instance, has raised a total of 10.5 million euros in investments since its founding in 2017. Kitch and EatTasty are also good examples of online food delivery startups made in Portugal that have managed to scale operations after raising several millions of euros in capital.