Due to episodes such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine, the resumption of tourism and Barcelona’s commitment to reducing polluting emissions, the city has needed agile, ongoing mechanisms that enable frequent analysis of commercial activity in ground floor premises.

For this reason, it has designed a methodology to allow it to monitor sample areas that are representative of the city, within a short time frame, in order to conduct detailed analyses of trends detected during its ongoing monitoring efforts. This methodology also makes it possible to get a quick, accurate picture of the situation of ground floor premises used for economic activity, without losing the bigger picture of the city as a whole. 

Which are the sample areas?

Eighteen of these areas have been marked out, taking into account aspects such as the concentration of commerce, the type of environment, commercial hubs and tourist hotspots, among others. Together, the sample areas are home to 8,000 premises, more than 10% of those in Barcelona.

What data does the study assess?

In total, since the completion of the analysis of the whole city in September 2022, two street-level inspections have been carried out of the sample areas (2022 and 2023).  The results have been compared with the analysis and the report produced in 2019, before the pandemic, to assess how the situation with regard to commercial premises had evolved from the time before the pandemic up to the first quarter of 2023. 

The key results:

Sabies que a Barcelona hi ha 58.908 establiments que tenen una activitat econòmica vigent a la planta baixa? D'aquests n'hi ha 20.749 que són comerços al detall i 32.004 dedicats als serveis, segons el darrer estudi de les activitats comercials a Barcelona 2022, amb dades recollides fins al 30 de setembre de 2022.

Alhora, l'anàlisi dels resultats té en compte els efectes que ha tingut la pandèmia de la COVID-19 sobre l'activitat econòmica als locals de planta baixa de Barcelona.

Els principals indicadors de salut comercial:

· An occupied ground floor in the city which guarantees the supply needs of city residents. Despite the slight downward slide in the indicators that measure the commercial health of the city, the indices for supply, commercial occupation, casual trade, and bars and restaurants remain good.

· Tendency towards specialisation and concentration of shops and services. The city’s shops and services tend to be specialised and are concentrated in particular areas. For example, Eixample, Ciutat Vella, Sant Martí, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi and Gràcia are home to 66.7% of all retail shops in the city.

· A wealth of commerce. With around 60,000 active establishments and more than 3.5 establishments for every 100 inhabitants, Barcelona has a commercial fabric that guarantees the supply needs of its residents. Furthermore, a reading of broad categories comparable to the references of the Commerce Observatories in Europe shows that one in three establishments is dedicated to various services (36.12%), while non-food establishments (21.72%) and restaurant services (18.2%) account for one in five establishments.