- On 4 May phase 0 of the reopening began: hairdressers, small shops by appointment and takeaway food.
- Barcelona’s shopping streets reopened at half speed, with less foot traffic and without much of the tourism.
- Digital channels, online sales and a direct relationship with customers were an advantage for those who already had them in place.
On 4 May 2020 phase 0 of the reopening began: hairdressers, small shops by appointment and takeaway food outlets opened their doors again after weeks of closure. Barcelona’s shopping streets reopened at half speed, with shutters up and far less activity than usual. It was a reopening both symbolic and practical: a return to a certain order, but with the feeling that the road to normality was long.
For many self-employed people and small business owners, it was the first working day in almost two months. The relief was real, but it came with uncertainty about how many customers would return, how often and under what conditions. Opening was necessary to generate income; the doubt was whether, with minimal capacity, that income would cover the costs of getting back to work.
What could open
Phase 0 was the first step of the de-escalation plan: limited-contact activities, service by appointment and takeaway sales. Businesses that reopened did so with minimal capacity and hygiene protocols, which cut the number of customers they could serve each day. In addition, appointments require managing diaries and communicating with customers before they arrive.
Complying with the protocols had a cost of its own: protective equipment, extra time for cleaning and disinfection, staff training and a reorganisation of the space. A small business with few square metres could lose a large part of its capacity because of safety distances. Working out what it costs to open each day is as important as working out how much can be sold. A simple table of daily expenses and minimum income needed is enough to decide with data.
Barcelona at half speed
Barcelona’s shopping streets reopened at half speed: shutters up, but with less foot traffic and without much of the tourism that supported many businesses in the centre. For a shop, opening the door does not guarantee turnover, and fixed costs such as rent and staff kept running from day one. Rent or a payroll do not care about capacity, which is why it is essential to know how much must be sold to start covering costs.
In a city whose central retail depends largely on visitors, the absence of tourists showed in the tills more than any restriction. Businesses with a neighbourhood clientele held up better than those geared to passing trade; those that depended on both had to adjust their range, their hours and, in some cases, their very purpose. Knowing where the clientele really comes from helps to decide when it makes sense to open and when to wait. It also helps to talk to the landlord, suppliers and the bank about possible deferrals or temporary adjustments.
Digital was here to stay
For neighbourhood retail, those weeks accelerated changes already under way: online sales, delivery and a direct relationship with customers. A business with a website, social media and a customer base it could write to had more ways to sell while shops were limited by capacity.
It is not a matter of turning every shop into an e-commerce platform, but of having simple and reliable channels: an up-to-date catalogue, a convenient way to order and pay, and a list of customers to notify about news. It is a modest investment that gives flexibility in the face of any future restriction and is worth keeping when circumstances improve. A business that gets used to serving customers through several channels is usually better prepared for changes of pace.
Those who already had those channels in place made the most of them.
This article is general information. It is not legal, tax or investment advice, and it does not take anyone’s particular circumstances into account.
