Street commerce goes digital

by time news

Itinerant trade is one of the oldest trades in history. sellers y buyers They exchanged goods and products through barter and, over the years, in exchange for a few coins. The market is a place of exchange, not only of articles and objects, but of ideas, beliefs and culture. From ancient Egypt, classical times in Greece and Rome, medieval markets, clogs and the Mozarabic markets are some of the processes that the market has gone through until it became what we know today. But, how is the market today? Are we facing a transforming process of street vending? The answer lies in digitization. Like shopping malls, and even small businesses, street vendors find their niche on the internet and social networks. Córdoba was one of the pioneering cities, along with Malaga, in taking the first steps around 2015 towards a digitalization of itinerant commerce.

History and regulation

Córdoba capital is one of the cities with the largest number of markets in relation to its number of inhabitants, specifically, 12 markets with a total of 891 stalls for approximately 325,000 inhabitants. An essential part of the history of street vending took place in La Corredera. Every Saturday, and also Tuesday and Thursday during the last stage, vendors took their products to the square to offer them to the public. In 1896, thanks to the businessman José Sánchez Peña, La Corredera began to have a food market that would bring modernity and a place to buy food to Córdoba. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the La Corredera market It had very little infrastructure. The stalls did not have a stop (irons, canvas and boards on which the products are placed) and on rainy and very hot days they took refuge under small umbrellas.

pepi flowers, better known in street vending as Pepi Cordobesa, has spent a lifetime dedicating herself to street trading. “I’ve been working as a street vendor since I was 10 years old, when I left school I would run to the market to help my mother sell,” she recalls. Pepi had to live the time of street vending in La Corredera. “My mother sold lace and I took the remains of that lace, placed it in a pile and sold it to people,” she says. “In La Corredera we were in full sun, the structures that we have now did not exist. It cost much more sell,” he says.

A customer pays for the clothes she bought with a card. AGONZALEZ


The peddling has been modifying and increasing its regulation despite being a forgotten sector. At present, itinerant trade continues to face difficulties. However, the municipal ordinance of itinerant commerce in Córdoba and the Andalusian Law of Itinerant Commerce have achieved better regulation and operation of the activity. In addition, different associations and social entities, mostly founded by the merchants themselves, have managed to pave the way for those who come after and advance in terms of labor rights for the self-employed who take their stalls to the streets every day. One of these associations is Acamcor, founded in 2015. Its president, Juan Fernández, explains that the objectives of this association are “the common welfare of all street vendors, fighting for our work and carrying out activities that propose new ideas.” Among the needs of the market, is “that we can compete with shopping centers,” he says.

The road to digitization

The digitization of jobs and generating a own brand is another of the challenges faced by street vendors. Different businesses, brands and small companies are present in social networks and the Internet. However, street vending is once again a step behind. Promoting the digital footprint of products and positioning themselves are two of the great advantages that digitization can offer street vendors. The Employment Technician of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano in Córdoba, Juan Fernández Flores, states that “digitization brings money, visibility to the market and becomes just another business”. However, the process of digitization It entails a series of steps to follow for a correct development and operation. “To digitize a market stall, I would first analyze my competition, see which companies do or sell the same thing as me, and, without comparing myself with them, we could adapt all the marketing strategies to street commerce, especially digital, that this competition,” he details.

The market is still recovering from the difficult situation created by the pandemic


The Gypsy Secretariat Foundation For the past 6 years, he has been promoting a digital entrepreneurship program called Mercaemprende. Through this training, street vendors achieve the professionalization, modernization and digitalization necessary to build customer loyalty and to reach a new audience. “We have to be in line with society, with the competition and with everything that surrounds us. We cannot be the same as we were 30 years ago,” he says. 80% of the people who enroll in this training are dedicated to street sales. The training meets all the requirements for the City Council’s itinerant commerce regulations to assign a score to the person who passes the course. “It’s a way of putting in writing that we are professionals, that the market also needs professionalization,” he says. The training had 16 users in the last edition, who promoted their own brand: Lidia Ferrey, Rosant, Dayana Styl, Luz Modas, Azahara Shop, Pedro Martín, Woman Shop, La Casa del Pañuelo, Tanit Complementos, Angel EMA, El Tacón , La Parada de Ana, Markitas, FH, Mis Caprichos and Annel.

Payment with Bizum is becoming more and more frequent in street vending. CHENCHO MARTINEZ


The traveling trader and user of Mercaemprende Manuel Correas began to dedicate himself to street vending at the age of 16, even traveling to Mexico to sell the products as was traditionally done in his family. Correas analyzes the current situation of the market and thinks that “the way of selling has changed. New technologies make this progress and we want to adapt to what is new”. Nowadays, customers are looking for speed and comfort, buying and selling products on the Internet. In his opinion, “the markets are getting worse and worse, because, despite the fact that there are people who like the market, what they are looking for is the Internet». But he has a clear solution: “It is very important to have your products and your contact on the Internet to reach a larger audience.

For its part, Consuelo Romero, another of the Mercaemprende participants, thinks that “there are vendors who want to move forward and others who don’t see it as profitable because customers go for cheap and don’t look at anything else.” For her, “there are many advantages that this training offers, such as selling with a catalogue, Whatsapp business and “Bizum”list.

Street vendors are taking the plunge and adapting to the Internet and social media. Correas declares that “the digitization process has not cost me at all, there were people who found it more difficult, but the fellowship and the teacher with his kindness and patience have made the difficult things simple.” In the case of Romero, he acknowledges that it is “more comfortable for him to sell as has been traditionally done, but I also sell with Bizum”.

Generating your own brand is one of the challenges faced by street vendors


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Fernández Flores comments that “there is digital divide in the people who are dedicated to street trading in terms of knowledge, experience and resources”. The situation caused by the pandemic and the distrust in the products and in the vendors themselves continues to be a problem. “It is very difficult to compete with the big businesses . Digitization and having our own catalog is a step towards being able to compete, but most people don’t trust us,” laments Romero.

Demotivation

The economic situation of street vendors and the scarce aid to the sector means that market professionals are not motivated and do not dedicate themselves to promoting digitization, since their main concern is to have sales to be able to survive and maintain their licenses or some positions. with good products to bring to customers.

Regarding digitization, Fernández sees a very great need in this. However, he says that “the market is still recovering from the situation caused by the pandemic and it is difficult to stop and see something else.”

An important step in digitization of the posts is the ability to create your own brand. “I can’t be number 37, I must have a name and a logo. On a physical level it is also important because of the visibility that a brand can give us,” explains Fernández Flores. For Romero, “the brand is essential to make us known. If you offer quality, appreciate and care for the customer, and make yourself known, you have everything.”

The Comacor association (Córdoba Autonomous Street Merchants) introduced through digitization a virtual showcase of the different partners with the name of their brand and the products they offer.

Vendors are taking the plunge and adapting to the Internet and social media


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The presence in social networks brings with it results. An example of this is the case of Pepi Flores, who has thousands of followers on her social networks, especially on TikTok, where he regularly shares videos showing the clothes, and on Facebook, where his live shows are an audience success. In her case, her brand is her own name and the friendliness and closeness with which she attends to her clients. “I upload videos to TikTok, I do live shows and people have gotten to know me little by little, not only in Córdoba.” Pepi is clear that the market has a future as long as it progresses and street vendors begin to be present on social networks. “You always have to come to buy at the market, but social networks make more people know you and the clothes you have at the stall.”

Market stalls increasingly offer more facilities to customers. AJ GONZÁLEZ


Idiosyncrasy

One of the debates that arise with the rise of social networks and the digitization of street vending is whether this would put an end to the idiosyncrasy of the market. Pepi is clear that “tradition and digitization can be perfectly combined. For us it is evolution, things have to evolve and we have to adapt”. Regarding the future, he hopes “that street vending will not be lost, that it will be maintained and that we can move forward thanks to digitization.” To this end, Correas encourages street vendors “to take the step to digitization”.

Romero puts all his hope in the future, despite thinking that there is still a long way to go in terms of visibility and recognition of the market. “We have to continue learning, training ourselves, taking advantage of any opportunity for improvement and, of course, taking the step towards digitization and new technologies”, concludes Romero.

Street vendors have been, are and will be professionals who have to adapt to the times and needs that the market requires. Digitization is here to stay and is, today, a tool that can help obtain greater profits and maintain the market and prevent it from being lost. traveling merchants They will also be an example of a new challenge: to create brands and position themselves among the big businesses without losing the essence of street vending.

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