Update: Amazon.es is now open. As many online commenters are complaining, many products are significantly cheaper in Amazon UK and USA stores (especially electronics, cameras, dvds etc), but they are missing an important point. Amazon.es will still thrive here simply because it is in Spanish.

The new Amazon.es site will pick up all those new online Spanish shoppers whose level of English would never have given them the confidence to shop from the UK or USA Amazon stores, but will fall for the Amazon UI and shopping experience now they have it in their own language.

For more comment on how Amazon is set to change online retail in Spain, see Amazon To Open in Spain – Big Changes Ahead?

We went to look at a house to rent recently. It was great, lovely parquet floor in the big salon, plenty of light.

Then we went upstairs and found dirty, stained carptets.

This is odd. Spanish people, in general do not like carpet. Trying to rent a house with carpet in Madrid is practically insane. The chances of getting the rental agreement signed are near impossible!

In a cold country carpet is nice, it keeps your feet warm in winter, but in a climate like Madrid’s that tops out regularly at 35-40ºC in summer? Carpet? Madness.

And a stained carpet to boot!

The funny thing is that the owners had just repainted the whole house and re-varnished the parquet downstairs.

“Do you think they’ll change the carpet?” we asked the agent.

“I doubt it,” she said, “they’ve just spent a fortune painting and redoing the floor in the salon.”

That’s like going on a date in filthy clothes, and saying, ‘it’s OK, I just washed my hair’ – chances of success = zero.

There’s one house that’s never going to go off the market.

(Reminds me of trying to rent a flat in Spain years ago, and being attacked by a savage Siamese cat – another flat that probably never got rented! Full story in Errant in Iberia!)

According to the press, Amazon is due to open in Spain on Sept. 15th. [Update: Amazon.es is now open.] This is hardly surprising – all over Madrid you see MRW vans delivering Amazon packages every day, and it isn’t just expats like me buying English books. Many Spanish people have been turning to Amazon for some time to ship better priced electronics to Spain with the minimum of fuss and good guarantees: cameras etc are generally cheaper on Amazon than from major retailers here. Apparently one million Spaniards already visit Amazon websites every month.

Importantly, Amazon opening in Spain could have huge implications for the Spanish on- and off-line market.

First of all e-commerce is way behind in Spain, and one of the reasons I’ve always posited for this is that Spain never had Amazon. I believe that Amazon.co.uk/.com/.fr/.de has had a huge role in fostering trust in ecommerce in those countries. Buying on-line in the US or the UK is largely considered normal, safe, and reliable thanks to Amazon, whereas here in Spain it is still not considered a normal way to shop amongst large sectors of the population.

Spain sits about 3 times behind the UK in terms of ecommerce. Online sales accounted for only 3% of all retail sales in Spain in 2010, whereas in the UK online sales accounted for 10% of all sales in the same year.

First quarter online retail sales in Spain were up 23.1% this year with respect to 2010 first quarter sales, but Spain still lags a long way behind. Amazon opening in Spain could change that in the same way it helped develop ecommerce in countries like the UK – by doing things well, efficiently, and offering generally great customer service.

The question is, if Amazon Spain brings these same important retail values to Spain (good customer service, efficient product delivery etc), could it have a knock on effect for off-line retailers as well, as Amazon sets new higher standards (e.g. in returns policies and customer service) not always seen here before?

Who knows, but one thing is for sure, I would be worried if I ran any kind of books/electronics/household goods ecommerce site in Spain right now – the bar is about to be lifted significantly, and Amazon is going to make other online operators who aren’t providing an immaculate service already, look pretty bad, very quickly.

Personally I think this is great news, I hope Amazon does in Spain everything it’s been able to do elsewhere – offering the same range of products, good customer service, and guarantees. We’ll find out what they have in store for us on September 15th.

Update: As mentioned above, Amazon.es in now open, and will thrive.