Small businesses in Bilbao are committing to being "more prepared, more digital, but above all, closer" as an antidote to the rise of online commerce. The traditional shop, "where the customer is known by name," is their key strategy. The city's retail sector convened yesterday at an event organized by Bilbaodendak and the Bilbao Chamber of Commerce, as part of the La Trastienda cycle, designed as a meeting point to share experiences for a demanding future.

The challenge is significant, bordering on survival for some, yet these shops are succeeding in maintaining "the pulse of the neighborhoods." This is the view of Kontxi Claver, Bilbao's Councilor for Economic Development and Commerce, who highlighted the sector's importance: nearly 4,000 businesses, accounting for almost 8% of the city's employment and 12.4% of its added value.

Claver assured that the City Council will continue to support this local development engine "with very concrete actions." She stated, "We must be honest; we are living through times of profound change. In Bilbao, in Bizkaia, and in all cities, we are not an island. Consumer habits are evolving, technologies are advancing, and challenges are multiplying." In her opinion, the solution lies in a variable that "remains and is in your own DNA: the extraordinary capacity of retail professionals to adapt, innovate, and reinvent themselves, without losing one of your fundamental pillars, which is proximity."

Luis Arbiol, president of Bilbaodendak, expressed his "thanks to the City Council and the Basque Government because they continue to support local commerce, not as a slogan, but truly with concrete backing for initiatives." Arbiol emphasized that commerce must be "close," but also "more prepared, more strategic, with better tools to understand the customer and make informed decisions," arguing that "money often escapes through small inefficiencies that repeat daily without us realizing it."

Izazkun Gómez, Director of Commerce for the Basque Government, underscored the "driving role" of commerce in major cities. Earlier, consultant Doroteo González delivered the keynote presentation, "The Coming Commerce. Strategy, Profitability, and Experience in the Omnichannel Era." González highlighted that commerce "is the social glue that opens the streets every day" and stressed the need to "think about what to do" to improve competitiveness, with a "defined strategy" at both the commercial and management levels.

He also defended the "human factor," the direct relationship between merchant and customer, in a market where data and algorithms are key weapons for logistics giants. González moderated a panel discussion featuring Eider Txarroalde (Óptica Jesús) and Isusko Oribe (Pastelerías La Suiza y Gernika), both of whom advocated for reinforcing the proximity model, despite some regulatory difficulties.