Its evolution in Spain

#ComercioLocalEsVital

The beginnings of the local business

In postwar Spain, neighborhood stores represent the standard business model. In this way, households satisfy their basic needs for products and services without leaving their neighborhood. It is the golden age of small merchants. At that time, consumers spent most of their income on the local economy.

The 70s and 80s, the growth of large distribution

Ya entrada la década de los 70, España vio el asentamiento de la gran distribución y el consumo masivo impulsado por un contexto económico favorable. Las ciudades se estaban remodelando y empiezan a surgir los supermercados en los barrios.

En la década de los 80, los centros comerciales y los hipermercados eran los reyes, pero la creciente urbanización alumbró la primera conciencia del medio ambiente y del consumo excesivo. Los suburbios se estaban expandiendo y se creaban empresas medianas para satisfacer necesidades distintas. Los pequeños comerciantes están cada vez más debilitados, especialmente las empresas independientes. Los centros de las ciudades se volvieron más uniformes con más y más cadenas de tiendas en las principales ciudades. Esta es una realidad que todavía se puede ver hoy a nivel mundial en el paisaje urbano con los mismos letreros instalados en todo el mundo.

Late 20th century, the advent of the Internet and the decline of local commerce

Since the end of the 20th century and with the arrival of the Internet, the customer became more and more demanding because they had a greater variety (local stores, supermarkets, specialized stores, electronic commerce) and “better information” (comparators, opinions, etc.). Local commerce loses ground to the benefit of these online stores and shopping centers.

2010s, new trends encourage local consumption

The recent emergence of trends in favor of “local consumption” accompanied by public action in favor of local commerce has allowed small business to regain renewed interest among consumers. Upon witnessing these new forms of consumption, wholesale distribution had to adapt to this consumer demand for proximity by crating small commercial areas adapted to the size of each type of municipality.

In a few decades, the business landscape in Spain has changed significantly. It has been interdependent in a social, economic, technological and above all ecological environment. In 2016, the commercial retail sector employees no less than 55.7% of the employees personnel in Spain(data from the “Structural Statistics of Companies: Commerce Sector” published by the INE in June 2017).