The heart of Olot, the capital of La Garrotxa with about 36,000 residents, showcases how rapid changes shape a regional economy. Shifting consumer habits and the ascent of online shopping have left traditional storefronts facing new pressures. The sight of empty fronts and the struggle for businesses that do not own their premises are clear signs of a broader urban evolution. Olot’s experience mirrors a larger pattern across Spain, where even giant retailers face distribution challenges and a scarcity of big fashion chains in smaller cities affects customer attraction. The shift from traditional commerce to digital platforms has become a powerful engine of growth, far beyond simply opening new shops. A study by IESE professor José Luis Nueno, analyzing six million transactions from the Fintonic spending app, indicates that the fashion sector, long a cornerstone of local trade, has slowed as customers migrate online and away from streets and shopping centers (Nueno, 2022).
In three years, the China-based chain Shein has emerged as a top fashion brand in Spain, particularly among younger shoppers. While overall fashion sales in Spain grew more slowly from 2020 to 2022, physical store sales were hit the hardest. Nueno highlights the phenomenon of a store closing as a common outcome. Zara increasingly channels customers toward nearby areas and toward online shopping. The opening of a Primark store draws price-conscious shoppers to the vicinity, yet Shein undermines competing spending across channels. The family budget is increasingly allocated online, with Shein and vintage clothing marketplaces gaining ground. As online activity rises, major brands strengthen their digital presence (Nueno, 2022).
Most wanted app
The fashion landscape in 2022, as captured by the Fintonic Intent HQ Barometer, reveals how recent data reflects shifting patterns. The 237,000 Fintonic users who track expenses illustrate a broader trend, corroborated by other recent studies. For instance, Smartme Analytics reports that four in ten consumers use mobile apps for shopping clothes, spending about 31 minutes per month on average. The new, more active fashion shopper tends to buy inexpensive items and resell them after a few uses. Shein and Vinted rank high in mobile sales, while Shein dominates mobile interest during the pandemic era. The trend continues: Shein is among the most sought-after apps globally, trailing only behind Amazon (Nueno, 2022).
Opportunities in middle populations
Nueno notes that for the first time, a newcomer can break into the top three fashion stores within just nine quarters. The fashion industry has undergone more change in three years than in the previous three decades, reshaping buyer types and shopping habits. According to Nueno’s research, retailers should rethink sales strategies in these growing areas, viewing them as places to host innovative formats that blend physical stores with new concepts (Nueno, 2022).
In Spain, the fashion sector posted a 17.5% gain from March 2021 to March 2022, but growth decelerated to 7.5% from July 2021 to July 2022 and to 5.7% a year later. Across Europe and the UK, sales were cooling. Yet physical retail faced the steepest slowdown while online channels expanded, rising 28% from mid-2021 to mid-2022 and about 18% over two years. Shopping centers saw more foot traffic but fewer transactions. Despite this, early reports indicated strong mall activity during the Christmas season and a projected net growth versus the prior year, suggesting a mixed recovery (Nueno, 2022).
customers
Fintonic’s data analysis places Shein in Spain’s top three for sales, fourth in transactions, and fifth in customers. H&M remains among the top five as well. Men’s preferences skew toward sports brands like Nike and Adidas or formal labels such as Cortfiel. Middle-income women aged 25–34 are the core buyers, purchasing about 3.4 times monthly with an average ticket of roughly 38.7 euros. Their favorites include Cortefiel, Zalando, and Nike, over Zara, Primark, H&M, or Shein. When only online sales are considered, Shein stands out, followed by Zara, Zalando, H&M, and Asos. Nueno’s assessment confirms Zara’s leadership rests on a strong omnichannel strategy that blends online with in-store shopping. Over the last decade, Zara invested around 2.7 billion euros in logistics and inventory management to synchronize stock with suppliers and track supply chains while closing about 890 stores from 2019 to 2022, mainly in smaller towns. The brand’s emphasis on large stores remains evident (Nueno, 2022).
effect of closures
When a Zara store closes, the immediate effect is a noticeable drop in sales and transactions in the surrounding area. Shoppers often pivot to online purchases or select nearby towns. Conversely, the opening of a Primark store tends to attract spenders to the broader area, boosting nearby commerce. Shein operates several physical locations, yet its customers demonstrate strong loyalty to online shopping and tend to reduce cross-channel spending.
Fintonic’s study relies on data from 5.76 million transactions recorded by its app over 607 days, drawn from 237,000 participants between January 2020 and September 2022 across various Spanish cities, totaling 198.4 million euros. The analysis used all payment instruments except income data and cash, and focused on the 20–30 most relevant fashion brands in Spain. These findings emphasize how online platforms shape shopping decisions, particularly in a market still anchored by traditional retailers.