Shopping excursions to Andorra lost their appeal years ago. Merchants know it and so do the more than eight million tourists who currently visit the sovereign country. Segments that still retained a certain competitiveness such as parapharmacy, perfumery and cosmetics, electronics or jewelry due to their reduced VAT (4.5%) have ended up losing steam this year in favor of online shopping, with many more possibilities for offers . So many visitors have stopped stocking up on these products, in the same way that they once stopped buying sugar and cheese.
But it is not only the Internet that is responsible. The pandemic and now the rise in fuel and energy prices have fully affected commerce, which is unable to recover its purchase receipt despite registering the highest tourism rates in the history of Andorra. A situation that has led the sector to step on the accelerator to change its model, which involves seeking greater sustainability in favor of fewer customers but with greater purchasing power.
“In recent years, there has been a significant increase in costs and profit margins have been progressively reduced, so lower-priced and higher-turnover products are no longer attractive,” acknowledges Sonia Yebra, president of The Shopping. Mile, one of the main commercial hubs of the country. However, it highlights the “possibility of finding almost everything” in a space concentrated in the 1.5 kilometers that form the conglomerate of shops on this golden mile between Andorra la Vella and Escaldes Engordany, where it has been valued specializing in snow, mountain, motorcycling and, above all and in recent times, cycling products. “We offer convenience, with many purchasing options concentrated in a small space, and optimization of time,” adds Yebra.
Andorra closed 2022 with 8.2 million tourists and for the first time exceeded 10 million overnight stays, which was 14% more than in 2019, before the pandemic. This year, according to the forecasts of the general director of Andorra Turisme, Betim Budzaku, the country will reach 8.8 million visitors, a record number, of which almost 65% come from Spain (of these, half are Catalans) . It is also expected to once again exceed 10 million overnight stays, a figure that, despite the good tourist performance this summer, is at the expense of what happens this winter with the snow campaign.
But all these record figures are not being transferred to the commercial sector, which has seen spending per person reduce both in stores and in the restaurant sector, confirms Yebra. The fact that the CPI in the country stands at 6.1% (according to official data from September) also does not help a country whose income comes 50% precisely from the tourism sector.
But the commercial sector, far from standing idly by, has undertaken the battle to reformulate itself and take advantage of all its strengths. The main one: its specialization in motorcycle and cycling accessories and snow and mountain products, as well as time optimization. “We have been working for a year and a half to improve customer quality and better select our products. “Purchasing habits have changed and now the shopping experience is highly sought after, which is why we are introducing a greater programming of activities into our offer, as well as a greater restaurant and tasting service to make the experience more complete and attractive,” explains the president of The Shopping Mile.
In short, fewer tourists but with greater purchasing power. A new customer profile who does not long to make the last purchases in the symbolic Punt de Trobada, the shopping center next to the border with Spain that succumbed to a landslide and has been replaced by a Carrefour.
