The multinational Amazon is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary in Spain this Tuesday, a period during which it has invested €25 billion and established a workforce of over 30,000 people. The company emphasizes its growth alongside more than 17,000 SMEs selling through its platform.
According to Ruth Díaz, Amazon's Country Manager for Spain and Portugal, the company is proud of how it has grown with Spain, supporting millions of customers and a substantial team. This momentum has solidified Amazon as a leader in e-commerce and a key player in logistics and cloud services.
Chema Lamirán, an expert in Digital Marketing from the Universidad Europea de Valencia, notes that Amazon's position, with advantages in immediacy, logistics, and trust in returns, gives it a significant edge over platforms like Temu and Shein. The company currently operates around 40 logistics facilities and over 20,000 pickup points across Spain.
Last year, Amazon recorded its highest volume of fast deliveries, with over 190 million ‘prime’ shipments completed on the same or next day. Furthermore, three out of every four SMEs exporting via Amazon collectively exceed €1.2 billion annually in international sales.
Lamirán highlights that the platform facilitates online entry for local businesses, saving them access or setup costs. However, he also warns that the emergence of the e-commerce giant has seriously impacted many traditional stores unable to compete on price or speed.
Amazon's evolution, from its origins as an online bookstore to becoming a global tech giant, is evident. This year, the company announced a new investment plan of €33.7 billion to expand its data center infrastructure in Spain, particularly in Aragon, aiming to offer advanced artificial intelligence and cloud computing capabilities.
This investment, planned for the next decade, will be complemented by new logistics openings, including a center in Zaragoza and a logistics station in Paterna (Valencia). It is estimated that the investment in AWS Europe (Spain) will contribute €31.7 billion to the Spanish GDP by 2035 and support the equivalent of 29,900 full-time jobs annually.
Lamirán emphasizes the importance of diversifying the business towards digital infrastructure and data centers, viewing them as a key element for the company's future growth.
