ONLINE SHOPPING HABITS IN SPAIN

A study made by the company nominalia shows that 86% of Spaniards have already shopped online at least in one occasion. That certifies that the habit of shopping online is widespread. Among these online shoppers, 71,5% shop frequently, 23,5% shop often and 5% shop sporadically.

The main reason to buy products and services online is the price, which is considered as very important by a 52%. The possibility that offers internet to access a wider range of products and in different territories is also a factor which is becoming more and more important. 72% of Spaniards have shopped online in websites of foreign countries.

7 out of 10 Spaniards prefer to shop online if this shop has also a brick and mortar store. This factor provides confidence to the customers because it is easier to change or do returns on-site than online.

Most shopped products are technology (65%), leisure (44,2%), fashion (41,6%) and travel (40,7%), while food-products are shopped online by only 11,4% of Spaniards who shop online.

The study also shows information about the expenditures. Nearly 50% spends €200 or more, per year. 30,4% spends €350 or more, and 18,8% spends more than €500 per year.

Regarding the devices used, 93,9% uses a computer when online shopping, 23,8% also uses the mobile phone, 14,7% a tablet and only a 1,8% a smart TV. However, the tendency shows that mobile devices are becoming more and more used, for that reason is recommended to have a website with a design that can be adapted to mobile phones and tablets.

WHY 8 OUT OF 10 SPANISH PEOPLE HAVE GIVEN UP AN ONLINE PURCHASE

According to Nominalia, the main reasons why 8 out of 10 Spanish people have given up an online purchase are the following: lack of clarity of online shops, a higher price for the product on the final process and other difficulties while shopping.

                                                   Photo credit: moneycrashers

E-commerce is a reality in Spain, as well as in other countries. It is supposed to have a growth of 2 digits for the next year, which will be around €13,000 millions in 2016. However, online shops should improve in many areas. The main key is to increase reliance on the website.

83,5% of users have given up an online purchase. 53,1% claimed that the main reason for not completing their purchase was because the product’s price at the end of the process was higher due to delivery costs or other administrative costs. 24,3% said that their reason was the lack of clarity in some steps. Finally, 22,6% didn’t complete the purchase because of other aspects of the website which made the process more difficult.

Photo credit: Huffington post

In conclusion, it can be inferred that the lack of reliance is the main problem. To increase this reliance it is important to have these three factors: a secure and easy method of payment, the possibility to give up the purchase while using Paypal and the confidentiality and privacy of the website. Surprisingly, only 27% of online buyers take into account the opinion of other buyers. However, it is very recommended to show a logo or symbol of security which the user can recognize.

MOBILE SECURITY

More and more people uses their personal devices for work, therefore businesses should be worried about mobile data breaches. Mobile security has become crucial. It is important to know what is causing this data breaches and to be aware of the danger of using personal devices for work. 

3/4 of the data breaches are attributable to mobile devices.  However, what is causing these data breaches? The answer is: malware-laden apps, security holes, and unsecured Wi-Fi connections, according to a study.

Furthermore, more and more businesses allow employees to use their personal devices for work. In a poll, more than 82% of respondents had access to corporate data from their mobile devices. For that reason, protecting these devices ranks higher and higher on the IT priority list.

Which are the benefits and drawbacks of using the personal mobile device to access the company data?

On one hand, it allows employees to access the company data from their home or wherever they desire, allowing them to have more flexibility. But on the other hand, the company must consider the increasing number of hacking that has been occurring on the last years so investing in mobile security would be very important nowadays.

So, the question is wether to allow the use of personal devices to access company data or not. From my point of view, I agree that to have more flexibility is very important for employees, however it shouldn't be allowed if the company does not have yet a good IT security. Investment in those areas should increase.

INTERNET COMING SOON TO REFUGEE CAMPS

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will bring Internet to refugee camps. Not only is this measure positive for the refugees, but also for the entire world. It will help people to maintain  and connect with its contacts and also it will help to increase commerce around the world.

The are more than 50 million refugees in 100 U.N refugee camps. 

Facebook has a partnership with ONE Campaign, (a global nonprofit advocacy group fighting extreme poverty), and they will provide the refugees with Internet access. This partnership supports a U.N goal of providing Internet access to the entire planet by 2020. More than 50% of the world population does not have yet Internet access.

Source: engadget.com

The project is called Connectivity Declaration and aims to provide Internet access to four billion people in the next five years. Bill Gates and other participants will also contribute.

Internet will help refugees to have better access support from the aid community and maintain them connected to family and loved ones. However, the benefits are not only for the refugees but also for the entire world. On the one hand it will help the disempowered and it will help to lift people out of poverty. On the other hand it will increase global cooperation, equality and commerce. 

This just reflects how important has become Internet in just a few years. I agree that it is important to spread the Internet access around the world. All people should have the same conditions in terms of accessing information and other resources. However, I believe that there are other refugee’s problems which should be solved with more urgency.

AMAZON AND ITS E-COMMERCE SUCCES

Amazon has changed completely the business of retail. They started packing books in a warehouse with a mountain of orders and now they sell online a big variety of products. Amazon is called the king of Internet. But what were the reasons for its success? I would say that the three main factors were: its variety, its price and its long-term focus.

Amazon is well known for its variety of products. This is extremely useful for customers. Instead of checking 20 websites to buy the different items that they need and then wait to receive them in different shipping days, with Amazon customers can buy mostly everything in the same website, furthermore they have the ability to deliver it the next day. For that reason, Amazon is one of the firsts websites were consumers start their search.

Secondly, they offer a very competitive price. This is due to the fact that there's no need to have expensive brick-and-mortar stores in the best locations. Thanks to the online business Amazon can have warehouses in cheap areas. That allows Amazon to offer lower prices than the competition and a fast delivery.

Thirdly, Amazon's management team are focused on the long-term. They invest in future expansion and in innovation. They have also a big customer-focus, trying to offer always the best selection of products at the best price and deliver fast.

Amazon is one of the best examples of e-commerce success. It has adapted to the new environment and it has made it quite a bit difficult for other companies.

This demonstrates that creating a business is no longer what we thought about in the past. It's the era of e-commerce. All you need is a website to start your business (but a good one) take example of Amazon and its fantastic search engine website. It's simple, easy to use, and effective.