Portuguese consumption habits surpass pre-pandemic records

In order to contribute to clarifying the impact of the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the consumption habits of the Portuguese, on the economy and society in general, SIBS publishes new indicators on the evolution of consumption and the reopening of the economy in Portugal, in compared to the pre-pandemic period.

Through the data from SIBS Analytics , it appears that the total number of purchases (physical and online) reached, for the first time in 2021, values ​​above those registered before COVID-19 - either in the same period (19 to 25 April 2019 ) , or compared to the first months of 2020, characterized as the “old normal” period

This growth is mainly due to online commerce, which has been registering significant growth throughout the pandemic, being currently 51% above the levels recorded in the "old normal". It should also be noted that, in the period before the new coronavirus appeared, online commerce represented only 10% of total electronic purchases, with this figure reaching 18% in February 2021 and is currently (week 19 to 25 April) by 14%. In this scenario, it is also worth highlighting the growth of MB WAY as a simple and secure form of payment, which registered growth of 4x the number of purchases in February 2021 compared to the “old normal” and 3.6x in the first week of the 3rd deconfiguration phase.

In physical commerce, and although consumption is already above the year-on-year figures of 2019, it is still 5% below that observed in the “old normal” period, but growing since March 2021 and, in the week of 19 to 25 April, was even above that registered in the same period of the last two years, namely 2020, a period in which Portugal was in the first confinement. Also in this channel, purchases with MB WAY have grown exponentially, being currently 4.8 times higher than previously registered, proving that MB WAY is increasingly the preferred mobile payment service of the Portuguese, consumers and companies, due to its convenience and security.

See Clarification (PDF)

For more information see the website www.sibsanalytics.com or the Brand and Communication team at [email protected] .