European discounting platform RetailMeNot – operator of VoucherCodes.co.uk – has launched in Spain and Italy, despite warning shareholders of a rocky start to 2016.

The introduction of RetailMeNot.es and RetailMeNot.it marks the latest move in the company’s international growth strategy, which already sees it present in America, Canada, the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

Earlier in the year the digital offers hub announced a 5% year-on-year loss in net revenue for the final quarter of 2015, owed to a 21% drop in desktop takings, accounting for $52.4 million.

This was offset partly by a 19% increase in revenue made through the redemption of offers on mobile devices, and the group appears to be leveraging the success of this m-commerce activity in its latest expansion decision.

Mobile motives

Mobile devices took a 29% and 28% share of e-commerce site traffic in Spain and Italy respectively between 2014 – 2015, according to eMarketer.

However, at 5% and 4% last year, e-commerce as a share of total retail sales across Spain and Italy still falls behind those of leading European neighbours, such as Norway (14.4%) and the UK (15.9%).

But RetailMeNot’s success in these markets may not hinge on online transactions, with 2015 also playing host to a revenue boost resulting from high-street sales.

Last year the group enjoyed a 57% surge in revenue from its in-store activities – up to $21.7 million – aided by the launch of an app which allows users to browse and redeem offers via mobile devices.

‘Natural choice’

The company’s senior vice president international, Giulio Montemagno, commented that widening its global offering has been part of RetailMeNot’s “DNA” from the outset, adding that Spain and Italy are “natural choices” for expansion.

“We believe that Spanish and Italian shoppers are already on the lookout for attractive digital offers, and will be receptive to the RetailMeNot brand as discount seeking becomes a natural part of the shopping journey,” said Montemagno.

Despite trailing behind the pack in online commerce – both in terms of transactions rate and spend per person – Spain and Italy now represent the fourth and fifth largest e-commerce markets in Europe, both growing by over 19% in 2015.

With populations of 60 million and 47 million respectively – some of Europe’s most highly populated nations – the opportunity is there for RetailMeNot to gain a strong footing within its new territories throughout 2016.