Record number of tourists, but drop in shopping: "Sales don't work anymore."

PalmMallorcan merchants have raised the alarm and are asking for aid to revitalize the sector during a sales period that is "much weaker than usual." During the memories of human pressure and ofarrival of touristsRetail sales continue to fall, and they are looking for solutions to encourage younger consumers to start shopping.

According to the latest Afedeco study, 78% of businesses in Mallorca have experienced a mediocre or poor start to the sales, and sales have not improved compared to last year. This was revealed by the president of Afedeco, Joana Manresa, who warned this Wednesday that we are experiencing "a time of commercial survival and the exhaustion of the sales model." To conduct this study, the association spoke with 300 businesses in Mallorca about the summer campaign.

Given this scenario, the employers' association has proposed a system of vouchers aimed exclusively at young people to attract them to physical stores. As Manresa stated in a press conference, "sales have lost their impact because there are online promotions throughout the year, and consumers no longer respond the same way."

Faced with this situation, he has called for "an urgent rethink" that includes delaying the start of campaigns to July 15 and regulating covert promotions by large chains to protect local commerce.

Along the same lines, the vice president of the entity, Pedro Miró, has argued that applying vouchers only to young people between 18 and 30 years old would allow "incentivizing youth consumption" in physical stores, since "young people are the consumers of the future and need different incentives that bring them closer" to this experience.

Regarding tourism and the decrease in spending during their stay on the island, Manresa has also criticized the fact that the current calendar "requires discounts to be applied just when the bulk of visitors to the Balearic Islands begin to arrive." This means "giving away margin" in the middle of the high season. "We are losing purchasing power, when we could sell at normal prices," he lamented.

He also noted that although the number of tourists remains high, "their spending has decreased because costs have risen everywhere and they have less money to spend on leisure activities."