According to a comprehensive study by Mastercard, filling out personal data at the end of an online payment process, such as the delivery address or card number, is one of the main discomforts for consumers when making digital purchases. In 2024, a staggering 75% of Spaniards abandoned their online purchases. The study reveals that nine out of ten Spanish consumers continue to type their full address and the 16 digits of their card number when buying online. However, half of them consider this to be an annoyance, especially those living in places with unusually long names.
The average Spaniard takes more than three minutes to enter their address and payment data when shopping online, which translates to over three hours in 58 purchase sessions per year. Last year, three quarters of Spaniards – over 35 million people – abandoned their online purchases due to discomfort during the payment process, including safety concerns, lack of payment options, or simply not having the right card at hand.
Relevant study data
Time is indeed gold for the average Spanish consumer, who made 58 online purchases last year, dedicating over three days to searching and buying items. With manual payments, this could mean over three hours spent typing data or searching for cards. More than half of consumers state that they will only save their card data on shops they use frequently, while two out of five claim they will only do so with large companies.
There is also a significant concern for privacy, with nine out of ten people feeling frustrated when asked for unnecessary personal information by online sellers. Three out of five are worried that they have already shared too many data with companies. Furthermore, half of the consumers admit to having inactive “zombie” accounts in online stores, putting their data at risk of security breaches.
Mastercard collaborates with European locations to facilitate online purchases
Mastercard has partnered with seven European towns with very long names, including Villanueva del Trabuco in Spain, to simplify online purchases through its click-to-pay solution. This payment method eliminates the need to enter data during the purchase and payment process. The mayor of Villanueva del Trabuco, Juan Luis Gallardo, valued the choice of his municipality for this initiative, stating that the town is proud of its name but also recognizes the value of a good shortcut and the usefulness of technology in making lives easier and safer.
The frustration of manually entering data when paying online is felt more intensely by inhabitants of places with the longest names, but it’s a common complaint that also has an economic cost. The payments industry has launched an innovative solution to address this problem – click-to-pay, a faster, simpler, and safer way to pay online. This solution allows buyers to pay with a click, without sharing long card numbers with online shops.
Juan Pablo Vivas, General Director of Mastercard Spain, explained that click-to-pay works thanks to tokenization, a secure process that replaces the card number with random numbers, or tokens, in purchases, which lack meaning in case of robbery. This protects consumers from scammers and retailers from cybersecurity and data breaches. Consumers can register their card with click-to-pay from their bank application and look for the click-to-pay icon at the time of online payment.
About the survey and click-to-pay
Mastercard collaborated with 3GEM, a survey company, to conduct a national survey of 18,000 consumers over 18 from 12 European countries. The total abandonment of the shopping basket in Europe is based on an estimated adult population of 615 million people. To enjoy a single-click experience, registered click-to-pay users can log in to obtain payment keys on their usual devices.
