E-commerce by individuals in Spain using panel data 2008–2016

Abstract

Digital technologies sometimes create digital divides. One of the remedies for certain divides in Europe is the creation of the Digital Single Market, of which e-commerce is one of the main elements. The focus of this work is e-commerce in Spain. The current study improves on existing international literature by using a large and representative panel data set on individual consumers, with 133,420 observations for the period 2008–2016. Moreover, it uses economic models and employs a variety of panel techniques. This paper measures digital e-commerce divides and their evolution along time. Next, a model that incorporates previously neglected explanatory variables, at the individual level, such as income and digital skills, is formulated. Individual demand models are estimated using panel logistic regression techniques. This allows quantifying the impact of each of the socioeconomic and geographic characteristics on the adoption of the service. Newly incorporated variables are significant as well as age, education, gender and geographical and time variables. The results allow novel regional comparisons. Policy recommendations are derived, suggesting effective and affordable measures targeted at specific socio-demographic groups.