The economic recovery is increasing the amount that Spaniards are saving for leisure activities, according to the report by COINC, Bankinter's online savings web portal

COINC, the savings web portal by Bankinter, has published this morning the conclusions of its 2015 Online Savings report, in which the bank confirms a change in the savings habits of Spaniards as a result of the improvement of the macroeconomic environment. Whereas in the 2014 edition, 64% of Spaniards that were saving did so to increase their net worth or to provide protection for their personal finances in the country's delicate situation, at present this percentage is down by more than twenty percentage points. On the other hand, Spaniards'confidence in an incipient economic recovery is resulting in a rise of saving goals linked more to consumer spending and less to the protection of one's net worth.

In this regard, of particular note is the growth experienced in the last year in the number of people saving up to pay for travel - it has doubled in one year, now representing 16% of savings goals opened by COINC customers in June, with an average balance of 12,400 euros -, to buy electronic goods - 10% of the total - and to give presents - 6.9%. Furthermore, the percentage of people that are saving to buy a future home remains stable, representing 9.4% of customers of the web portal, with an average balance of 30,900 euros. This figure is further evidence that there is an accumulated demand for property waiting for the property market to stabilise in order to buy.

To carry out the study, COINC has analysed the saving habits of more than 72,000 customers, that have more than 800 million euros deposited in the web portal under different savings goals (savings, travel, wedding, electronics, car purchase, education...). This is the largest amount of money classified by savers themselves that has been analysed in Spain, offering a complete x-ray of the profile of the online saver in Spain and of their saving habits according to their goals, age, physical location and gender.

Another of the conclusions drawn from the data obtained in the savings web portal indicates a predominantly young or middle-aged profile of the Spanish online saver. This is because 67% of COINC users are under 44 years old: 5% are under 25 years old, 28% are between 25 and 34 years old and 34% are between 35 and 44 years old. Furthermore, two of every ten customers that save in the COINC web portal are between 45 and 54 years old and 16% are over 65 years of age. The data shows a classic constant: the older, the more money. So, the saver over 65 has - on average - three times more savings than users aged between 25 and 29. In line with the above, the study provides evidence that the speed of saving is practically linear over time, following a growth rate of 300 euros per person/year. With regards to saving habits, young people allocate a larger amount of their income to travel, buying a car and moped, electronics or education. On the other hand, people over 45 years of age save mostly - in more than 60% of cases - to have a buffer of capital in order to deal with unforeseen events in the future.

Different savings objectives for men and for women.

With regard to the distribution by gender, from the analysis of the data it is noted that men predominate in the profile of the online saver - 65% of users - compared with 35% for women, a difference between the sexes that has been gradually reducing since the launch of COINC two years ago. Nevertheless, according to data analysed, women have larger savings in the younger age brackets - between 18 and 24 years of age - and more mature ages of their lives - from 55 years of age and above.

Analysing savings by goals, it is noted that the percentage of men and women that are saving simply to accumulate capital are neck-and-neck; the same thing as happens in the housing, education and presents categories. However, large relative differences are apparent in other sections. For example, women save more than men to buy fashion articles in the future, to prepare their wedding, for the arrival of a baby or to go travelling. Men, on the other hand, open 40% more goals to buy a vehicle or twice as much to acquire electronic goods.

According to physical location, the Basque Country, Castile-Leon, Madrid and Cantabria lead the ranking with more than 14,000 euros as their average savings. Andalusia, Murcia, the Canary Islands and Catalonia appear at the bottom of the table, with figures below 12,000 euros.

With regard to customers' favourite format for accessing this web portal, it is still the computer (74%), but it has fallen by an enormous 93%. The mobile phone stands out as the device of choice for users, going from 4% to 21% of connections. The tablet is also growing as a format, although it barely represents 5% of the total connections received by COINC.