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The gift from traders for Christmas is the turnover of the holiday period. And according to forecasts in Barcelona, that of 2024 will be significant.
Photos: Barcelona town hall
Merry Christmas ! Barcelona’s small and large businesses are convinced that end-of-year sales figures will be 4-8% higher than last year, based on Black Friday figures, the best since the pandemic .
A correlation that may seem paradoxical. Indeed, previously good sales during Black Friday meant a lackluster Christmas. However, it is now the opposite, because “the consumer is increasingly intelligent and knows how to discern the moments and acts of purchase”estimates Sergi Martín, vice-president of the Catalan association of family businesses Comertia. Thus, Black Friday is generally reserved for purchases of household appliances, while everything related to textiles is more popular during the end-of-year holidays.
Suffice to say that this year the stars worked in favor of the sale. Black Friday fell on November 29, a time when many people had just received their paychecks. As for the end of the year, retailers are banking in part on the hyper-popular cinema offering (Moana 2, Gladiator 2, Mufasa, etc.) which gets people out of their homes and encourages purchases.
Emiliano Maroto, secretary general of the association of traders Catalunya Comerç, is optimistic: “the conversations and meetings we have with traders show that they are enthusiastic and that many of them already have orders, which was not the case in other years”.
This is also true for restaurants and the hospitality sector, confirms the deputy director of Arenal, who reveals that his restaurants – three – have already reached 80% of reservations for Christmas lunches and dinners.
Everyone also points to the political calm of the region, which provides a peaceful atmosphere and therefore conducive to spending, as well as mild weather, ideal for long walks in town.
A trend noticed throughout the country
This increase in the end-of-year figure is not only true in Barcelona. According to the Cetelem observatory, Spaniards plan to spend on average 583 euros this Christmas, a figure which represents an increase of 3% compared to the previous year.
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