In 2019, the number of retail businesses in Spain was around 460,000. By 2021, that figure had fallen to less than 428,000 businesses. In other words, some 32,000 businesses had fallen by the wayside, a figure that increased by a further 13,000 retail businesses lost in 2022, meaning that some 45,000 businesses would have been lost since the year before the pandemic, according to UPTA data.
The rise of e-commerce, the fever of permanent discounts, skyrocketing costs and inflationary pressure, as well as the consequent slowdown in consumption, are all factors that are eating away at the chances traditional businesses have of surviving.
