Online commerce in Spain continues to grow: according to the BBVA Foundation—whose digital publication Esenciales (Essentials) includes economic data from the National Statistics Institute (INE)—the percentage of Spanish companies that sell through an ecommerce channel has tripled in 15 years, from 14.7% in 2008 to 45.1% in 2023. The increase is even more impressive when it comes to the number of ecommerce customers, which has quintupled in a similar period: in 2006, only 10% of Spaniards had bought something online, while in 2024, more than 56% said they had bought from an ecommerce site.

In this context, it’s not surprising that even the most traditional companies have opted for digital transformation to take part in the expansion of an increasingly popular channel. In this guide, we’ll analyze the ecommerce forms under which a company can operate, the advantages provided by ecommerce, the related legal aspects, and the most common payment methods.

What’s in this article?

• What is ecommerce?
  
• Types of ecommerce in Spain
  
• What are the advantages of electronic commerce?
  
• What are the risks of electronic commerce?
  
• Ecommerce regulations in Spain
  
• Most used payment methods on ecommerce sites in Spain
  
• Steps to create your own ecommerce business
  
• How Stripe drives ecommerce in Spain
  
• FAQs about ecommerce in Spain
  

What is ecommerce?

Ecommerce (or electronic commerce) is the buying and selling of products or services online. These transactions usually take place in online stores, but they can also occur in other digital environments such as marketplaces and auction platforms.

Types of ecommerce in Spain

Ecommerce businesses can be categorized based on their target audience or their business model. Let’s take a look at each of these cases:

Types of ecommerce based on the target audience

One way to classify ecommerce businesses is to identify the two parties involved in the transactions: individuals, businesses, or government agencies.

B2C ecommerce

These are ecommerce businesses where companies sell their products or services directly to individual customers. This is the most common model and is used in businesses as diverse as streaming platforms, drugstores, clothing stores, or pet supply stores.

B2B ecommerce

These are ecommerce businesses that conduct transactions online with business customers, such as online suppliers of raw materials, ecommerce stores selling office supplies, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers that offer solutions such as customer relationship management (CRM), cybersecurity services, or collaboration tools. According to the INE’s Indicators of the ICT Industry [Indicadores del Sector de las Tecnologías de la Información y de las Comunicaciones]), nearly 42% of companies with more than 10 employees regularly make online purchases.

B2G ecommerce

These are ecommerce businesses whose customers are government agencies, hence the term business-to-government, or B2G. In an analysis by InSuppliers, which collects data on companies with the highest volume of contracts with European government agencies, the Inditex group has become a leader in the B2G textile industry thanks to its online sales of items such as uniforms to government agencies in Spain and throughout Europe.

Another clear example of B2G ecommerce is the public procurement platforms provided by each autonomous community, which allow companies to participate in public tenders online. According to data from the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) report on electronic invoices submitted to government agencies through the Spanish government invoice submission platform FACe, more than 141 million invoices were recorded between January 15, 2015, and September 30, 2025, many of which were from B2G ecommerce.

C2C ecommerce

Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) ecommerce businesses facilitate transactions between individuals. The most representative examples are secondhand goods platforms with peer-to-peer (P2P) payment systems, such as Wallapop, and marketplaces for crafts and personalized products. According to MPB’s Report on the Second-Hand Market in Spain (Informe sobre la segunda mano en España), 60% of Spaniards already regularly use these C2C ecommerce platforms to buy secondhand products.

C2B ecommerce

Consumer-to-business (C2B) ecommerce provides individuals with a channel to deliver their ideas or services to business customers. Examples include stock photo websites and freelance service portals. Another type of C2B ecommerce is crowdfunding, which, through platforms like Kickstarter, allows people who do not have the investment needed to start up their projects to present those projects and obtain funding from other individuals or companies. To encourage support from businesses and leverage this funding method, some creators offer discounts on their crowdfunding projects, so that companies can buy several units of the product during the presale for much less than the final retail price.

B2B2B ecommerce

Business-to-business-to-business (B2B2B) ecommerce sites, also known as B2B marketplaces, are digital platforms that act as intermediaries, allowing businesses to sell their products or services to other business customers. They also help companies discover new potential partners, compare offers, and close deals more efficiently than through traditional channels. For example, Amazon Business—Amazon’s B2B marketplace—already has more than six million business customers worldwide.

B2B2C ecommerce

Business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) ecommerce businesses offer their services to companies selling goods or services to end consumers. The most popular example of this type of B2C marketplace in Spain is Amazon, although there are other platforms, such as Etsy, that also act as intermediaries between businesses and individual customers. Some B2B2C ecommerce platforms, such as Booking.com, specialize in services. In this context, Booking.com has positioned itself as the most widely used accommodation booking system in Spain (even ahead of direct bookings with hotels).

Types of ecommerce based on the business model

Ecommerce businesses can also be classified according to their type of activity and revenue model.

Retail ecommerce

These are ecommerce stores that sell goods in small quantities to end consumers. Retail businesses are an important pillar of the Spanish economy, contributing to job growth: in September 2025, employment in this sector increased by 1.3% year-on-year.

Wholesale ecommerce

These are ecommerce businesses that sell goods in large quantities to other companies. In this business model, it’s common for the ecommerce business to offer purchase volume discounts when its business customers exceed a certain spending threshold or a certain number of units.

Dropshipping ecommerce

This type of ecommerce business sells products online without needing to hold stock; instead, the distributor ships the items directly to end consumers. Unlike conventional ecommerce businesses, dropshipping businesses do not manage their own inventory, eliminating the need for a warehouse and internal supply chain management.

Subscription ecommerce

These are online businesses that offer automated recurring purchases. One common example is the subscription box business model, which allows customers to subscribe to a curated box of items, such as clothing, beauty products, or gourmet food. According to an IMARC study, in 2025 this industry generated $708.4 million USD in revenue in Spain.

What are the advantages of electronic commerce?

One of the factors that has driven the enormous expansion of ecommerce—which already has more than 30 million users in Spain—is the advantages it offers to both customers and businesses. Below are some of the most significant ones for businesses that sell their products or services online:

• Global reach
  Ecommerce eliminates geographical limitations, as it can be accessed from anywhere. This global reach increases the potential customer base and makes it easier to expand a business outside of Spain. According to data from the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC), the ecommerce sectors in Spain that recorded the most transactions from abroad in the first quarter of 2025 were travel and transportation, entertainment, and telecommunications.

• Higher revenue
  The increase in the potential customer base has a direct impact on revenue growth: in 2024, ecommerce in Spain generated €95.2 billion in revenue.

• Lower costs
  Ecommerce requires less initial investment and is more cost-effective than brick-and-mortar retail, as it eliminates the need to invest in purchasing or maintaining a physical store. The savings are especially significant in large Spanish cities: according to the Barcelona Metropolitan Area Economic Development Agency, local rent for a commercial space in December 2025 cost an average of €16.39 per square meter.

• Greater agility
  When a business operates entirely in a digital format, it’s much easier to optimize campaigns to increase conversion, as the business has the flexibility required to test different strategies, iterate quickly, and continue doing what really works much more efficiently than businesses based in a physical establishment.

• Greater data control
  The digital nature of ecommerce greatly facilitates the collection and analysis of metrics on user behavior, advertising performance, and the effectiveness of acquisition channels. This ability to track performance allows businesses to adapt marketing strategies and optimize processes based on real data, not assumptions.

What are the risks of electronic commerce?

Despite growth figures that inspire optimism, the digitization of a business also entails certain challenges. To ensure the long-term viability of an ecommerce business, it’s important to understand the risks of operating in a digital environment. Below are the main challenges that companies face when making the leap to online commerce:

• Greater international competition
  Just as ecommerce allows Spanish companies to sell abroad, it also opens the door to competitors from all over the world, who can now sell in Spain even if they do not have a physical presence in the country. In fact, according to the CNMC, purchases made by Spanish customers from online stores in other countries represented 56.5% of the ecommerce business volume in Spain during the first quarter of 2025.

• Delivery and returns management
  While in a physical store the transaction ends at the checkout, in an ecommerce store that is where the biggest operational challenges arise. According to the Fourth Study on Ecommerce Logistics (IV Estudio sobre la Logística del e-commerce), the costs associated with shipping packages increased by 18% from 2023 to 2024. Furthermore, in 2025, almost one in four orders of nonfood products were returned in Spain, forcing retailers to deal with complex and costly logistics to recover products that, in many cases, cannot be resold.

• Absence of direct sensory experience
  Selling through a screen carries the risk that the representation of an item might not be faithful enough to the real product. Although ecommerce technology is becoming increasingly advanced, this limitation continues to have a notable impact: according to the Cetelem Observatory on ecommerce, 56% of Spanish consumers indicate that not being able to see and touch the products is one of the most negative aspects of buying online.

• More complex fraud
  Ecommerce businesses face risks such as data theft, identity theft, and fraudulent chargebacks. As reported by the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE) in its 2024 Cybersecurity Report, there were more than 38,000 cases of online fraud in Spain, representing 43.2% of the total reported cybersecurity incidents.

Ecommerce regulations in Spain

In Spain and Europe, there are several regulations that govern ecommerce. We’ve prepared a brief summary of the most important laws and the obligations they impose:

Law on Information Society Services and Electronic Commerce

Also known as the LSSI, Law 34/2002 regulates any commercial activity that takes place online: it’s not limited to the sale of goods through online stores, but covers practically any transaction for profit conducted over the internet. If this applies to you, the main legal obligations focus on website transparency and communications. For example, you’ll need to include on your site all of your company’s identifying information, clearly communicate the general terms and conditions and the returns policy, break down any applicable fees, and confirm receipt of payment immediately after a transaction.

General Law for the Protection of Consumers and Users

This law unifies and regulates several rights of electronic commerce users, most notably the right of withdrawal, which allows customers to cancel a purchase within the legally mandated period. Furthermore, if the customer receives a partially defective order, the company must issue a partial refund or offer another satisfactory solution for the consumer. This obligation is key considering that 8% of products purchased in 2023 and 2024 arrived at their destination damaged or broken.

General Data Protection Regulation

Also known by its acronym GDPR, this European regulation requires electronic commerce companies to comply with numerous requirements when processing their customers’ personal data. For example, they must provide transparent and comprehensive information about what personal data is collected, for what purpose, and how it is processed. In addition, they must allow users to give their consent for the use and storage of cookies.

Create and Grow (Crea y Crece) law

The Create and Grow law requires, among other obligations, that electronic invoices be issued to businesses that establish commercial relationships with other companies or self-employed workers, such as B2B ecommerce businesses. When the final regulations are approved—expected in January 2027—the implementation of VeriFactu will also require the use of approved software that communicates directly with the Tax Agency and includes a QR code on invoices.

Most used payment methods on ecommerce sites in Spain

Currently, ecommerce businesses offer a wide variety of traditional and modern payment methods. Below, we explain some of the most common ones in Spain.

Cards

When it comes to online transactions, cards are by far the most widely used payment method in various markets: according to Stripe data, 48% of ecommerce purchases in Spain were paid for by card, compared to 53% in France and 42% in Italy. However, according to the Bank of Spain, the use of cards to pay for online purchases decreased by 8% from 2022 to 2024, in favor of other electronic payment methods such as digital wallets, which recorded an increase of 5%.

Digital wallets

E-wallets or digital wallets are applications that allow you to complete payment transactions in ecommerce stores conveniently and easily, as they eliminate the need to enter card details. Most digital wallets, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal, allow users to save their digital balance or card details, which will be available to complete transactions with a single click. In Spain, this payment method represents 29% of total online payments.

Bizum

This payment method, integrated into online banking applications, allows you to send and receive money instantly between bank account holders in Spain. When it began, it was mainly aimed at transfers between individuals, but little by little it has been gaining ground in the business field. In 2024, more than 58,000 ecommerce stores accepted payments with Bizum. Its success lies in the advantages it offers to ecommerce businesses and the ease with which customers can complete a payment with an ecommerce store simply by entering their phone number.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL)

Buy now, pay later methods (also known as BNPL) allow customers to buy from an ecommerce store and pay the amount in installments. In Spain, some of the most popular BNPL platforms are Klarna, seQura, and Alma. By using these services, payments are deferred immediately and without interest—in Spain, fees are typically only charged if the customer is late with their payments. These favorable terms have contributed to BNPL already being used in 5% of online purchases in Spanish ecommerce stores.

Direct debit

Unlike bank transfers—in which the customer initiates sending money to the recipient—direct debit is a payment method that allows companies to make automatic charges. SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) direct debits are a good fit for ecommerce stores that offer recurring purchases in Spain. For businesses, greater revenue predictability and reduced administrative burden are the main factors driving the adoption of direct debit. For customers, the convenience it offers, along with its high level of security, make it one of the most popular payment methods in Spain: 77.5% of recurring payments are processed by direct debit.

Cash on delivery (COD)

This in-person payment method allows the customer to pay for an order placed on an ecommerce site after receiving it at the specified address, instead of paying in advance. Although cash payments are mainly used for in-person purchases, they’re also possible when buying from ecommerce stores that choose to accept cash on delivery (COD) payment. According to the National Observatory of Technology and Society (ONTSI), COD was the eighth most used payment method for online purchases in Spain in 2023.

Steps to create your own ecommerce business

Although each project is unique, the structure for creating an ecommerce business is based on the same fundamental principles. Below are the nine key steps to turn your idea into an ecommerce business:

Step 1: Define your ecommerce brand identity

Your corporate identity is the first step in differentiating your offering from that of your competitors. Take time to choose your business name and develop a consistent visual identity. Make sure the web domain is available and matches your brand, as it will be your main online showcase.

Step 2: Choose a content management system (CMS)

A CMS is the software that will allow you to create, manage, and maintain your website without having to write your own code for every change you want to make. It’s important to choose an intuitive, secure, and reliable platform, as it’ll be the tool you use daily to upload products, manage inventory, and process customer orders. Below are some of the most common CMSs in Spain:

• Shopify: This platform allows you to create an online store and sell to customers worldwide without investing in development resources. Although all Shopify plans are paid, the prices are very competitive. In January 2026, there were already more than 50,000 online stores in Spain that were created with Shopify (more than double the number in mid-2023).
  
• PrestaShop: This open-source platform offers a higher level of customization, but its learning curve is somewhat steeper. In many cases, PrestaShop is the preferred option for ecommerce stores that have some knowledge of programming and development.
  
• WooCommerce: This is the leading ecommerce plugin for WordPress, the free CMS that powers over 43% of all websites. If you decide to build your website on Wordpress, WooCommerce makes it easy to transform a standard site into a fully functional store. WooCommerce, like WordPress, is free to install, allowing you to pay only a small percentage of each payment processed through your ecommerce store.
  

Step 3: Set up your technical infrastructure

If you choose an open-source platform (such as WooCommerce or PrestaShop), you’ll need a place to host your ecommerce site. Hosting is the space where your store’s files are kept, and its reliability is a key factor: a slow server not only frustrates users and reduces sales, but also lowers your ranking in search engines such as Google. Choose a provider that guarantees speed, stability, and automatic backups.

Step 4: Design an engaging and functional user experience

The design of your ecommerce store is your calling card to potential customers. Think of your website as if it were a physical store: if it’s difficult to find a product or the payment process is complex, the customer will go to another store to find what they’re looking for. The site design should focus on usability, with a clean interface that includes intuitive menus, easy-to-spot purchase buttons, and comprehensive product descriptions.

Step 5: Ensure compliance with regulations

In addition to the tax and legal obligations that apply to physical stores, online sales are regulated by certain regulations specific to the digital environment, such as the LSSI. Remember that your ecommerce site must have pages detailing the shipping, return, and warranty policies, and it must have a cookie consent management system (in addition to the cookie notice itself) to respect user privacy.

Step 6: Minimize buyer uncertainty

A good content strategy not only describes what you offer, but also anticipates your customers’ questions. Create a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section that addresses common concerns about shipping or returns, and enable direct communication channels, such as real-time chat or a dedicated WhatsApp number for customer service.

Step 7: Simplify the checkout process

The checkout process is an important step in achieving a good conversion rate for your ecommerce business. If the customer cannot find their preferred payment method or the checkout process is slow and complex, sales that were practically guaranteed can be lost at the last minute. In fact, in a Stripe study on checkout processes in Europe, 62% of customers say they abandon their purchases if they can’t complete them within two minutes.

Step 8: Define the shipping options and conditions

Even if outsourced, shipping logistics have a direct impact on the customer experience in your ecommerce store. Choose the shipping companies you’ll work with, and structure your rates clearly: for example, you should explicitly state if you offer free shipping on purchases above a certain amount. In addition to the shipping cost, be sure to communicate estimated delivery times based on your customer’s location before they complete their purchase.

Step 9: Develop your marketing strategy

Once your ecommerce business is up and running, you’ll need to make sure potential customers can find it. To attract qualified traffic, it’s a good idea to combine organic search engine optimization (SEO) with paid advertising campaigns (i.e., search engine marketing, or SEM) on search engines and social media. Once you start making sales, it’ll be especially important to dedicate resources to customer retention: it’s usually much more cost-effective to convince a satisfied customer to return to your store than to acquire new customers.

How Stripe drives ecommerce in Spain

According to data from the BBVA Foundation, 56% of people making a purchase from an ecommerce store do so using a mobile phone or tablet, while the remaining 44% do so on a computer. In both cases, the trust and security conveyed by some payment gateways positively influences the purchase decision. That’s why integrating an advanced platform like Stripe Payments into your business can help foster growth for your ecommerce store.

Stripe Payments lets you accept your customers’ preferred electronic commerce payment methods. Payments, which offers more than 100 payment methods—such as credit and debit cards, Bizum, and digital wallets—complies with all current regulations to accept payments from customers in more than 195 countries and holds the strictest security certificates in the industry. Furthermore, its entire Optimized Checkout Suite (OCS) is designed to boost the growth of ecommerce businesses.

Meanwhile, Stripe Billing, Stripe’s solution for recurring payments, streamlines the operations of Spanish ecommerce businesses that sell subscriptions by automating billing cycles and simplifying the steps to create plans, implement trial periods, and manage each subscription.

For some time now, not all electronic commerce has taken place through websites: social media have been growing for years as direct sales channels for many ecommerce businesses, which require solutions that allow them to receive payments. With Payment Links, you can share hosted payment pages that make it much easier to sell on Instagram without an online store. This functionality is key in Spain, where a third of online shoppers make purchases through social media, according to SEUR’s E-shopper Barometer 2025.

FAQs about ecommerce in Spain

Is it mandatory to be registered as a self-employed individual to sell products or services through an ecommerce site?

Yes, to sell products or services through an ecommerce site, it’s mandatory to register as self-employed or to set up a company to formalize your economic activity. While there are some cases that allow you to sell online without being registered as self-employed, these cases are truly exceptional and do not usually apply to someone who wants to sell on an ecommerce site.

Is it necessary to have a physical store linked to an ecommerce business?

If you only sell your products online, you can manage all the logistics from anywhere, without needing a physical storefront. However, Law 34/2002 requires that the tax address of the business owner be clearly specified in the online store; this will be the owner’s home address if the business activity is carried out from home.

Are there grants to create an ecommerce business in Spain?

Yes, there are programs designed to support the startup of ecommerce businesses through subsidies, such as the Digital Kit program, which helps fund the digital transformation of your company with an amount of up to €29,000. You can use these funds to create an online store to sell products or services, or to promote your website and expand your reach to the maximum number of potential customers.