I was rather amazed to read that only 35 percent of small stores in Palma actually opened last Sunday, even though it was one of the busiest shopping days of the year combining Black Friday with early Christmas shopping. Their excuse was that staffing costs meant that they couldn´t make Sunday opening profitable. But if they don´t open they will never know.
There is talk of a possible economic slowdown and even a recession in the Balearics next year and one of the first places to suffer will be the high street. So really shops need to rake in the profits now because there are uncertain times ahead.
Palma was packed last Sunday but it was empty on Monday. I don´t think many people consider Monday as a shopping day but Sunday is obviously a big shopping day. So if they wanted to reduce staff costs the smaller shops could have opened on a Sunday and closed on a Monday.
I think certain small retailers are rather stuck in their ways and they must remember that these days with the massive growth in online shopping their must work around the shopper not the other way around. If shops are to survive they must open more often or at different times. Closing at lunch-time should be a thing of the past and they should start considering more Sunday opening, especially during the summer season. As an example shops in Gibraltar open when there is a cruise ship in port...if only Palma would follow their example, I am sure that the smaller retailers would be more profitable.