European payment technology firm Nexi’s 2021 European E-commerce Report has revealed how consumers’ preferred payment methods have changed during the pandemic.
The report analyses e-commerce data from eight European countries: Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, where a total of €493bn was spent last year. The data is based on results from surveys conducted by Kanatr/Sifo on behalf of Nets, part of Nexi Group, in the form of 50 weekly interviews among 15,000 internet users across the eight countries.
The findings show that German e-commerce consumers now prefer e-wallets, with 39% of German respondents saying they prefer this payment method over the long-time favourite option of open invoicing (23%). Credit cards and online transfers lag some way behind, accounting for just 10% and 6% respectively of online purchases in Germany. Austria too prefers e-wallets (23%), but that is closely followed by invoicing (23%) and credit cards (21%).
Italian e-commerce consumers, however, still prefer PayPal, with 50% of consumers saying this is their preferred online payment method. Debit cards are the next most popular option for Italian consumers at 19%, with no other digital payment method coming close. The reason for PayPal’s popularity in Italy is security, with 58% of respondents saying this is an important factor. Other factors include PayPal’s speed and simplicity.
Consumers in Finland prefer traditional payments such as online transfers (34%) and paying by card (24%), with newer methods such as MobilePay and ApplePay representing just 6% and 1%, respectively, of consumers’ preferred payment methods.
Danish consumers also enjoy using cards, with 51% choosing this as their preferred online payment method. The next most popular payment method is MobilePay (34%), with no other payment method reaching double figures.
Credit cards are the most popular online payment method (29%) in Switzerland, followed by invoicing (23%).
In Norway and Sweden, local payment methods such as the apps Vipps (23%) and Swish (19%) remain popular. However, cards are still the most popular e-commerce payment method in Norway (45%), with invoices dominating online payments in Sweden (35%).
“The Nexi European E-commerce Report 2021 shows that while consumers expect their payments to be secure, they still value convenience and simplicity when conducting online transactions,” said Omar Haque, head of the e-commerce group at Nexi Group in a statement. “It’s likely that consumers now have greater trust in purchasing products online than before the pandemic, which could in fact have helped democratise online purchases across all categories in Europe.
“Understanding what makes consumers abandon a cart, such as not being offered their preferred payment option, is critical to improving sales, and stores that can enhance this aspect of the experience stand to win the most,” Mr Haque added.
