According to the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC), there were nearly 479 million ecommerce transactions in Spain during the fourth quarter of 2024, which represents an increase of more than 46 million compared to the same period in 2023, reaching a total of 1.756 billion transactions in 2024.

Consumer trends analyzed by the Ministry of Industry and Tourism reveal that Spanish customers are increasingly prioritizing online shopping over traditional stores. Still, to take full advantage of this growth and enjoy the benefits of operating on the web from the country—such as creating new revenue streams—it is important to choose the products you will sell carefully. In this article, we explore what to offer on the internet in Spain, key considerations, and current ecommerce patterns.

What’s in this article?

• How to choose the products to sell online
  
• Ideas and trends for products to sell online in Spain
  
• Ideas and trends for services to sell online in Spain
  
• How to sell online in Spain
  
• Benefits of selling online
  
• How Stripe Payments can help you sell online
  
• FAQs about what to sell online in Spain
  

How to choose the products to sell online

Digital platforms are highly versatile, allowing you to sell practically anything. However, it is wise to plan your offering effectively from the outset to ensure your business idea is profitable. If you are exploring ecommerce opportunities and want to know which products are the most viable for online sales in Spain, keep these factors in mind:

• Identify a common problem or need: It’s valuable to note your idea to solve a problem or meet a need for a significant number of people. To make this happen, it’s necessary to carry out a process of product-market fit. Among other actions, this entails researching the profiles of potential customers, collecting opinions, and studying consumer behavior data.

• Check the level of demand: Research related keywords and read messages posted on forums, social media, or review websites. This analysis indicates what people are now looking for but cannot easily find.

• Analyze current trends: Consumer habits frequently change. Evaluating them can help you sell products or services online that are part of current trends among Spanish shoppers.

Ideas and trends for products to sell online in Spain

Demand for products on digital platforms often varies. That’s why we have listed some options that have continued to grow or stay stable for a while, to give you inspiration for what to sell on the web from Spain:

• Apparel: Per the CNMC, in the fourth quarter of 2024, the apparel market had the second-highest volume of revenue, with 6.6% of total ecommerce purchases. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Tourism reports that the fashion field in the country accounts for 2.8% of the country’s GDP.

• Software: The CNMC also states that, during the first quarter of 2024, the software sector was among the top 10 industries with the largest percentage of transactions: 2.1% of overall Spanish ecommerce. What’s more, sales of digital products allow you to create recurring income and open the door to professional clients if you accept B2B payments.

• Electronics: Spanish fintech firm SeQura estimates that consumer electronics account for 28.13% of spending in ecommerce in the country. Figures from Statista show that in 2024, items in this category—such as smartphones, video game consoles, and televisions—provided revenue of over €9.24 billion.

• Personal care and beauty: Data from SeQura also indicate orders of personal care and beauty products represent 12.5% of total online spending in Spain. The National Perfumery and Cosmetics Association reports the cosmetics and perfume industry had net sales of above €11.2 billion in 2024, which, along with its 8% growth in digital purchases, suggests that selling this type of product on the web could achieve positive results.

• Sporting goods: Cetelem Observatory reported in 2023, sporting goods ranked ninth for the highest web orders and recorded significant growth compared with the previous year.

Ideas and trends for services to sell online in Spain

Offering services online is often a good way to generate income without having to make a significant initial investment. Let’s take a look at some of the types of web-based services with the strongest demand in the country:

• Online training and courses: According to Statista, Spain is the country in the European Union with the sixth-largest percentage of the population taking online courses in 2023. If someone possesses advanced knowledge of a specific topic, it’s possible to turn it into a business opportunity by selling web-based training, such as private lessons via video calls or recorded courses.

• Consulting: Figures from the Spanish Association of Consulting Firms indicate that in 2024, local consultants earned revenues of nearly €22 billion. This type of sought-after work is well suited to remote delivery via the internet.

• Technical support and maintenance: Many enterprises are looking for remote workers for recurring tasks required to maintain the company’s entire IT system. For example, you could offer IT support work, data security management, or site management and updates.

• Coaching: Personalized coaching sessions are in high demand in Spain, particularly in B2B environments. Although they require some demonstrable professional experience, these sessions can justify higher fees, especially in areas where a company is involved in sales or productivity.

How to sell online in Spain

Now that you know the criteria to keep in mind when selecting your products and have seen some of the recent trends, begin evaluating the more administrative aspects. Before selling online, make sure you have completed these steps:

Register as a self-employed person or as a company

Though some exceptions allow for selling online in Spain without being self-employed on an occasional basis, if you want it to become your professional activity, register as a self-employed person by filling out Form 036 from the Spanish Tax Agency. If you would rather set up a limited liability company (SL), you must process registration with the Commercial Registry.

Choose your platform for selling online

If you have programming skills and want complete control over your website, creating your own online store is the most common route. If you prefer not to code, choose an ecommerce platform to accelerate the process:

• Shopify: This all-in-one platform allows you to launch a website to sell products and services on the web to customers around the world without needing any programming skills. More than 44,000 online stores in Spain have been designed with Shopify (a figure that has more than doubled since the beginning of 2022).

• PrestaShop: While PrestaShop’s learning curve can be a bit steeper than other alternatives, as an open source tool, it offers unique customization choices.

• WooCommerce: Nearly 100,000 businesses in the country use WooCommerce, a WordPress plugin for building websites and managing content. This tool enables the creation of highly customized shops, though it requires a bit of technical knowledge.

Social media platforms can also become compelling sales channels. In fact, it’s possible to sell on Instagram without an online store by using hosted payment pages.

Hire a payment service provider

To accept online transactions, you need a payment service provider with technology infrastructure that is suited to today’s demands. Ensure the provider you select provides a secure and convenient experience, accepting clients’ preferred ecommerce payment methods, such as Bizum (with over 28 million users in Spain) or digital wallets. If you sell high-value items, consider offering installment plans.

Establish your geographic scope

Sending products outside the country can entail logistical challenges, particularly if they are bulky, heavy, or fragile. Yet the effort is worthwhile, as CNMC reports 56.4% of web orders in Spain during the second quarter of 2024 came from abroad.

If you decide to expand your business outside the country, beyond the logistical challenges, note that your tax burden will also become more complex: you will need an intracommunity value-added tax (VAT) number to sell within the EU. You must file a VAT return for exports from Spain sold outside the EU.

Benefits of selling online

Now that we have reviewed some of the core aspects of how to sell online from Spain, let’s take a look at the most common benefits of ecommerce:

• Lower costs: Starting a business on the internet is more affordable than doing it offline, because it doesn’t require investing in a brick-and-mortar shop. The savings are considerable, especially in major Spanish cities: according to Gesvalt's commercial real estate report, rents in Bilbao's shopping areas range from €55 to €200 per square meter, reaching €230 in Valencia, €600 in Barcelona, and up to €700 in Madrid's premium areas.

• More potential customers: Although international expansion is often not easy, the local web market opens the door to a larger number of individuals than would be reached by exclusively operating locally from a brick-and-mortar location. In fact, according to a study published in 2024 by the National Observatory of Technology and Society, more than 30 million people shop online in Spain.

• Greater flexibility: Enhancing marketing campaigns to increase conversion rate is simpler if your entire operation runs on the web. Teams are able to test different strategies, iterate quickly, and keep doing what really works with greater flexibility than if modifying a physical store.

How Stripe Payments can help you sell online

Stripe Payments is a global, integrated payments solution that allows businesses of all sizes—from startups to large multinational corporations—to accept online and in-person payments from customers around the world.

Here’s what you can achieve with Stripe Payments:

• Optimize the checkout experience: With Payments, you can offer a streamlined and intuitive shopping experience. You will also save thousands of hours of development work thanks to its pre-designed payment interfaces, which give you access to more than 125 payment methods and Link, the digital wallet developed by Stripe.

• Expand to new markets faster: Reach customers around the world and simplify exchange rate management, thanks to international payment options that support 195 countries and more than 135 currencies.

• Integrate online and in-person payments: Create a unified commerce experience between your online and in-person channels to personalize your relationships with customers, build customer loyalty, and increase your revenues.

• Improve your payment performance: Increase your net sales with configurable and easy-to-deploy payment tools, including no-code fraud protection solutions and advanced features to improve authorization rates.

• Grow your business with a reliable platform: Build your business on an infrastructure that is ready to grow with you. Stripe has achieved 99.999% uptime and guarantees industry-leading reliability.

Check out all the details on how Stripe Payments can help you accept payments from anywhere or create a free account.

FAQs about what to sell online in Spain

How do you know if you’ve chosen the wrong products to sell online?

Analyze metrics such as cart abandonment, the number of buyers exercising their right of withdrawal, and the percentage of negative reviews for the products. If the results of this assessment are negative, consider adjusting the marketing strategy or modifying the current lineup.

How can you minimize returns on the products you choose to sell online?

Publish clear descriptions and photographs that accurately reflect their features. It’s also a good idea to include genuine reviews by customers and answers to FAQs received. In addition, if you decide to start an online apparel business, it is important to include a detailed size guide.

Note that cash on delivery options do not necessarily help reduce returns. It’s often thought that recipients can check a package before accepting it, yet most shipping companies only permit inspection until after payment takes place.

Can I sell products from an online store without having stock?

Yes, some business models allow you to start selling without investing in stock beforehand. Dropshipping is one of the most widely used approaches in Spain, as it enables distributors to send items directly to end consumers. Print-on-demand systems work similarly: they let the venture create its own customized designs, and then a partner, such as Sellfy, prints the product and ships the order.