Our Q1/23 Digital Commerce Spend Report brings you data-driven insights and analysis on spending patterns within digital commerce in order to help companies identify trends, optimise spending and inform strategic decisions. Download the report here.
Countries in the EU and UK are showing initial signs of recovery, while The European Commission and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research report projections of growth and avoiding a recession. This recovery is reflected in a significant increase in card spend during the first quarter of 2023 from digital commerce businesses that have shown remarkable resilience.
Despite a drop in the average number of transactions, average transaction volume is increasing thanks to businesses making a few efficient investments. Overall card spend is growing – 17.3% this quarter compared to last and 22.6% year-on-year.
UK and Sweden are driving higher rates of card spend than other European businesses. UK-based digital commerce spent 42.69% more in the first quarter of this year than last. Meanwhile, Swedish companies spent 1.18% more overall this quarter than in Q4 2022. The economy shows signs of recovery, and digital commerce is leading the way.
"It's positive to see ecommerce businesses start the year strong with a focus on growth," says Samir El-Sabini, Co-Founder and CEO of Juni. “We also see stable growth in Europe, potentially showing initial signs of economic recovery.”
Advertising and inventory were the two categories that had significant increases in spend. Advertising had 15% growth per business quarter on quarter, while inventory saw a whopping 100.5% increase on average for the same period. In comparison, companies cut spend on software by 58% this quarter to allow for this increased investment in business growth.
Even though online sales in the UK, Sweden, and the rest of Europe slowed down this quarter as expected, numbers are still high and show similar performance compared to Q4 2022 – online sales in the UK still account for 26% of total retail sales. Current market conditions suggest that expected growth in demand is driving this upward trend, with customers spending 18.3% of their budget on inventory in March 2023.
In our 2022 Ad Spend Report, we crowned Meta, which includes Facebook and Instagram, the online retailers’ advertising platform of choice. But Google has become the new leader in Q1 with 50.9% of ad spend. But, another shake-up could be on the horizon. Card spend on Microsoft Advertising – new owners of AI sensation ChatGPT – went from 0.4% in Q4 2022 to 2.1% in Q1 2023. This has become the third most popular platform, knocking TikTok down to number four.
Digital agencies had the highest growth in spend this quarter, while SMB digital commerce had a smaller increase, and mid-market ecommerce decreased their average spend.
Digital agencies spent 50.7% more per transaction this quarter accounting for an overall 54.11% increase in the average amount spent per customer. SMB and mid-market ecommerce businesses also increased the size of their transactions with a total overall spend increase of 20.2% and 13.2%, respectively, compared to Q4 2022. Despite this trend, average spend per business actually went up by 0.3% for SMB digital commerce while it went down by 5.38% for mid-market businesses.
Juni’s virtual cards, multicurrency accounts, and accounting and advertising integrations give you a unified view of your finances. Get increased visibility of your cash flow and transactions with insights and analytics tools. Get control of your transactions with custom notification settings and transaction reviews by assigning cards to managers. Juni can help you boost your cash flow with cashback on all your eligible spend and access flexible capital with extended terms*.
Methodology
Insights in this report come from analysing thousands of aggregated and anonymised transactions on Juni cards. SMB digital commerce represents companies with 50+ employees. Mid-market digital commerce represents companies with 100+ employees. Digital agencies reference both digital marketing and advertising agencies as well as affiliate marketing companies. Numbers were compiled and analysed on a quarterly basis.
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Juni Technology AB (company number 559248-0908) is licensed and registered as an electronic money institution with the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Sw. Finansinspektionen) (license no: 64025). Payment Card Solutions (UK) Limited (company number 05941947) and UAB B4B Payments Europe (company number 305539054) are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (ref: 930619) and the Bank of Lithuania (licence no: 76), respectively. The Juni Mastercard Corporate Card is issued by Payment Card Solutions (UK) Limited and UAB B4B Payments Europe pursuant to a license by Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard and the circles design are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated. Juni Technology AB. Masthamnsgatan 21, 413 28 Göteborg, Sweden. © 2025 Juni. All Rights Reserved.
