Press Release 26/07/2021
INFORMATION SOCIETY SURVEY. COMPANIES 2021
E-commerce sales grew by 2.7% and purchases were up 5.9% in the Basque Country in 2020
The proportion of establishments that used e-commerce remained stable and accounted for 26.9% of the total
In 2020, sales made by establishments in the Basque Country were up 2.7% on the previous year, and in the case of purchases this percentage rose to 5.9%, according to Eustat data.
It is estimated that, on average, electronic sales accounted for 46.6% of total sales. In turn, electronic purchases represented 40.2% of the total purchases made by companies in 2020.
26.9% of establishments in the Basque Country, some forty-three thousand establishments, engaged in e-commerce. This figure was two tenths down on the previous year. However, the value of sales and purchases made using the same system increased by 2.7% and 5.9%, respectively.
The volume of business generated in 2020 over the Internet or via other electronic systems such as email and electronic data interchange (EDI and other networks) rose to 22,092.4 million euros in terms of electronic sales and 16,784.1 million euros in terms of purchases.
At provincial level, there was notable growth in electronic sales in both Bizkaia, with an upturn of 5.4%, and Gipuzkoa, with 2.8%, while in Álava e-sales decreased by 0.8%. In the case of electronic purchases, for their part, figures increased in all three provinces, with Bizkaia standing out once again, with 7.3% growth, followed by Álava with 5.0% and Gipuzkoa with 4.1%.
With regards to the weight that each of the provinces has, there was an even distribution over all three in terms of electronic sales; Bizkaia accounted for 38.0% of the Basque Country total, whereas Gipuzkoa had a percentage of 32.7% and Álava 29.3%. In purchases, on the other hand, the participation was more disparate, with Bizkaia accounting for 51.9% of the total in 2020, whereas Gipuzkoa represented 30.4%, and Álava saw the remaining 17.7% of electronic purchases in the Basque Country overall.
Considering establishment size, it was those with 10 or more employees in which larger sums of money were traded in e-commerce, accounting for 81.0% of electronic sales and 70.2% of total electronic purchases.
For its part, the percentage of establishments participating in e-commerce stood at 26.9% in 2020, 0.2 percentage points less than the previous year. This drop occurred due to the decrease in the percentage of those purchasing electronically, 0.7 percentage points down on the previous year. Although the proportion of companies making electronic sales went up 0.6 percentage points, this growth did not offset the downturn in purchases. Currently, 24.0% of all establishments purchase electronically, while 7.6% make electronic sales.
Likewise, it can be observed that although the number of establishments purchasing electronically greatly exceeds those that sell using the same method, the figures for electronic sales (22,092.4 million euros) are higher than those for electronic purchases (16,784.1 million euros).
These figures vary if employment is taken into account. Thus, amongst those with 10 or more employees, 33.5% engaged in e-commerce, 0.3 percentage points up on the previous year. Also in this segment, there was a higher number of companies making electronic purchases, 28.9%; and a lower number of companies making sales through the same channels, 14.2%; although for companies of this size there was a 0.6 percentage point increase in those that purchase and a 0.4 point increase in those that sell.
With regard to the means by which electronic purchases were made, 52.3% of total purchases were carried out by email, 24.9% via EDI and other networks and the remaining 22.8% using websites. In turn, 36.8% of total sales were through websites, apps or internet sales portals, 31.8% by email and the remaining 31.4% via EDI and other networks.
As regards the type of customer to which e-commerce sales were destined in 2020, a large majority, 74.2% of total e-sales, were destined for other companies (so-called B2B trade), 24.2% were for private consumers (B2C) and the remaining 1.7% was spread over other kinds of customers, such as Public Administrations (B2G).
NOTE:
Eustat would like to thank all the companies and institutions that have collaborated in preparing this survey, the information for which was gathered between January and April 2021.
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel.: 945 01 75 62