Portrait of the Portuguese Consumer
On World Consumer Rights Day, SIBS publishes an infographic with some data on consumers characterization and the consumption in Portugal.
From March 2022 to February 2023, there was a 30% growth in the number of payments compared to the same period in the previous year (March 2021 to February 2022), with the average value per registered purchase being €36.2, similar to the one recorded before.
This growth is higher for online payments than for payments in physical stores. The growth in the number of online operations rose to +46%, while in physical stores it stood at +27%. With regard to the online payment method preferred by Portuguese consumers, emphasis is given to MB WAY, which grew by more than 90% in number between the two periods under review. Also noteworthy in MB WAY is the “Authorized Payments” operation, which grew by 138% in the first 2 months it was available. It should be recalled that this new functionality, dedicated to online payments, makes it easier to pay at merchants where users have service subscriptions (such as media subscriptions, utilities, etc.) or where they make payments with high frequency, simultaneously guaranteeing greater security and ease in managing the payments they authorize.
The infographic also shows the growth in online payments throughout the national territory, with the highest average number of online payments per consumer (considering the card proxy) in the last 12 months registering a greater increase in Lisbon (8.5 payments per consumer), Setúbal and Porto (7.2), Coimbra (7.1) and Braga (6.4). Analyzing the variation between the two periods under analysis, it is concluded that the growth of online payments is not exclusive to more urban consumers, but is present throughout the national territory with the highest growth in number registered in Portalegre (+73% ), Bragança (+62%), Autonomous Region of Madeira (+58%), Autonomous Region of the Azores (+58%) and Coimbra (+56%), seeming to indicate a trend towards the convergence of this adoption.
Other indicators considered relevant can be analyzed in the annex and also on the website www.sibsanalytics.com.