Future Online

For years now I have been calling in this space for shops to have more flexible opening hours especially during the summer. It is outrageous that only a small number of shops are permitted to open at the weekend. But, you can't blame the local authorities completely.

Small shops that can open on a Sunday (in the Jaime III) area of the city remain closed. They complain that the additional staffing costs means that it is not worth their while opening. But, that was then and this is now.

During the Covid crisis there has been a massive growth in internet shopping and it will be a trend which will continue. Smaller shops, instead of being open more hours, need to invest more in their online sales. I think this is one of the only ways that they will be able to compete. I know it is difficult for smaller shops to spend more money on their online outlets but this is certainly in the future. Tourists would buy online from them which would give them a new market.

Walking through the streets of Palma at the moment it is sad to see how many shops have closed down because we didn't have a tourist season this year. Those that can survive the storm need to start looking to the internet as the way forward. Times are hard but there is light at the end of the tunnel.