There is a growing number of companies in Portugal using electronic commerce to buy or sell goods and services, according to the results of the “2005 Survey on the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Companies”, made by Instituto Nacional de Estatística (National Statistical Institute) and UMIC - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento, IP. (Knowledge Society Agency).
According to this study, in 2004 about 26% of small companies in Portugal used this type of commerce to make electronic purchases or sales. Their use varies proportionally with the companies’ size, and has been adopted by about 48% of the large companies and 31% of the medium-sized companies operating in our country.
The study also shows that, in the scope of electronic commerce, purchase is the most common practice of companies in Portugal, compared with sales - about 22.4% of companies use electronic commerce to purchase, while only 9.6% make sell using this means.
Regarding private users, and according to the results of another survey by the same entities - “2005 Survey on the Use of Information and Communication Technologies by Families”, a growth in the number of Internet and electronic commerce users in Portugal is also noted. According to this study, in the first quarter of 2005 around 31.5% of Portuguese households already had access to the Internet from home, a 27.8% average yearly growth rate, between 2002 and 2005.
Concerning the use of electronic commerce, the study shows that, during the first three months of 2005, about 12% of Portuguese Internet users bought or ordered goods and services on the Internet. Regarding the type of goods and services most commonly purchased, highlight goes to books, magazines, newspapers and e-learning materials, referred by about 32.5% of the users of this type of commerce, followed by movies and music (25.4%) and tickets for shows and events (23.6%).
Consult:
- 2005 Survey on the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Companies, INE/UMIC, January 2006 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=357867
- Survey on the Use of Information and Communication Technologies by Families, UMIC, December 2005 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=357894
