Most purchases in Barcelona are made in neighbourhood shops

Most purchases in Barcelona are made in neighbourhood shops, markets recovered five points in their market share of food products; when city residents have to travel they do so on foot and by public transport and spend no more than twenty minutes travelling. The city’s various commercial areas were scored 7 out of 10. These are the most notable points from the last consumer habits and study on shopping complexes report. The data show that Barcelona’s local-commerce model is strengthening, as highlighted by the Councillor for Tourism, Commerce and Markets, Agustí Colom.

94% of local residents do their regular food shopping in the neighbourhood they live in. In other words, 9 out of 10 people. 69% of residents also do their regular non-food-product shopping in their residential neighbourhood: 7 out of 10 people. The commercial sectors with the highest consumption are: pharmacy (98.4%), household and personal care shops (92.9%), health shops (81.2%), florists (81.6%) and books, newspapers and magazines (81.2%).

By contrast, the products consumers travel to other neighbourhoods for are: music (56.9%); toys and sports (44.6%), computers and telephones (38.7%) and clothes (36.5%). Only in the case of furniture and decoration, 27.2% of consumers shop in a municipality outside the Barcelona.

Barcelona’s consumers go and buy from shops in their neighbourhoods because they are local (comfort and personal treatment), from markets because of the quality of their products (along with being local and diverse) and from commercial hubs because of the diversity on offer (besides being able to look at other shops and take a stroll and stay within their locality). According to Councillor Agustí Colom, the report highlights the efforts and dynamic nature of a commercial model that is capable of offering a large diversity in every neighbourhood and emphasises people's preference for travelling on foot and on public transport.

Notable features of consumer habits included in the report

• Meat is mainly purchased from markets (35%), neighbourhood supermarkets (30%) and specialist shops (29%)
• Fish and seafood are mainly purchased from markets (44%), neighbourhood supermarkets (24%) and the neighbourhood’s specialist shops (23%)
• Fruit and vegetables are bought at greengrocer's shops (50.3%), markets (23.2%) and the neighbourhood’s supermarkets (20%)
• 80% of pre-packaged food and drinks are purchased in the neighbourhood's supermarket, whereas only 2.6% of such purchases are made in hypermarkets
• People are reducing the frequency of their shopping trips more than they used to five years ago. 17.6% of those surveyed used to shop every day in 2012, but now only 12.4% shop on a daily basis
• 26.5% of people make online purchases every 15 days or more frequently, where as 62.7% never shop that way
• Specialist shops and supermarkets are the most frequently used establishments. 81.1% and 79.5% respectively say that they shop there once or more a week.

 

Three quarters of shoppers are women

The most regular shoppers in Barcelona are women. Close to three quarters of shoppers are women, representing an increase on the findings from 2012. It is also women who provide more revenue there (52% compared to 48%).

By contrast, twice as many men as women make online purchases: 9.55% of women compared to 19.2% of men buy some sort of product online at least once a month.

Neighbourhood shops, markets and supermarkets 

Neighbourhood shops, municipal markets and supermarkets are the main commercial establishments used for regular shopping. Shops stand out in terms fruit and vegetable purchases (50.3 of purchases of these products are made in neighbourhood shops), and on bread, cake and milk products (65.2%). Municipal markets are the first port of call for meat and pork products (34.9%) and fish and seafood (44%), whereas supermarkets are where 80% of other food and drinks are purchased. As for markets, these have been seeing a revival since 2012: 29% of all food purchases were made there in 1997, 17.7% in 2012 and 21% by the end of 2017.

Reduced shopping trips.

Barcelona’s consumers are reducing the frequency of their shopping trips more than they did five years ago, both for food and non-food products. 17.6% of those surveyed used to shop every day in 2012, but now only 12.4% shop on a daily basis By contrast, the number of people who only go shopping once a week has risen from 22.7% to 42.6%.

Online consumption 

Barcelona’s consumers who buy products online once or more every two weeks represent 4.2% of the total. This number climbs to 12% for people who make such purchases once a month. Even so, the number of people who state they never making online purchases represents 62.7% of the total. Three key factors determine online purchasing, in the following order: the consumer's age; their economic situation and gender.

35.8% of consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 make online purchases at least once a month, compared to 8.5% of people over the age of 65. In the range between these two age groups, 20.44% of consumers between the ages of 35 and 64 use the internet as a means of shopping at least once a month. Being familiar with new technologies is noted as the main requirement for online consumption.

In terms of the employment situation, 24.27% of salaried workers shop online at least once a month, compared to 16% of unemployed people. In contrast, 4.66% of pensioners shop online at least once a month, compared to 40% of students. Note that 27.7% of freelancers also use this option and tend to buy online more often than in person.

Study on shopping complexes

The study focused on 17 commercial areas: of several types: Portal de l’Àngel; Plaça Catalunya – El Triangle; Pelai – Ronda Universitat – Carrer Tallers; Sant Antoni; El Born; Rambla Catalunya – Passeig de Gràcia; Diagonal (from Pg. Gràcia to Francesc Macià); Corte Inglés in Maria Cristina; Sants – Creu Coberta – Les Arenes Shopping Centre; Carrer Major de Sarrià; Carrer Gran de Gràcia; Cor d’Horta; Fabra i Puig; Sant Andreu; La Maquinista Shopping Centre; Les Glòries – Plaça de les Glòries Shopping Centre and Diagonal Mar Shopping Centre. These shopping areas received a score of over 7 out of 10 from city residents.

The study shows that on average 30% of Barcelona’s residents have been to one of these shopping centres at least once. The areas that stand out for the large number of people they draw in are: Portal de l’Àngel (55.7%), Plaça Catalunya – El Triangle (40.4%), and Corte Inglés at Maria Cristina (36.2%).

Private transport is clearly a minority option for accessing the shopping centres studied: on average 48.5% of those surveyed arrived at these places on foot; 38.1% by public transports and 13.5% using private transport.

Commercial areas relating to the non-central commercial urban neighbourhood fabric are the ones that record the highest frequencies of visits. Such is the case with commercial hubs like C/ Major de Sarrià (54.3% stated that they go there every day or practically every day), Sant Andreu (45.5%), Fabra i Puig (44.1%) and Cor d'Horta (43.7%). By contrast, both the commercial areas of Barcelona’s hypercentre and shopping centres located far from the city centre recorded less frequent visits: Portal de l'Àngel (44.4%), Plaça Catalunya- Triangle (43%), El Corte Inglés at Maria Cristina (43.3%) and the Diagonal Mar Shopping Centre (38.3%).

In terms of travelling to these various shopping complexes, only 19% of visitors came from outside Barcelona. In fact, on average, 68.8% of people were able to travel there in under eight minutes.

Average amount of money spent: €51.8

The average amount of money spent in the commercial areas analysed came to 51.8 euros. The highest amount of money spent in this context took place in neighbourhoods with higher incomes whereas the lower amount of money spent was in neighbourhood shopping areas and with an extremely diverse range of activities. The proximity and location of shopping hubs were the main reasons given by the people surveyed for going to them (67.87%), followed by the range of commercial offers (11.35%), and personal fondness of a particular shopping area (7.52%). Shopping complexes were scored over 7 in all the variables the people surveyed were asked about. They highlighted proximity, ease of access, opening hours and commercial offers, all of which scored over an average of 8. Prices received a score of 6.7.