Commerce is a strategic sector for the Spanish economy and constitutes a key element of territorial structuring and dynamization of social, economic, and cultural activity. This sector, made up mostly of SMEs and micro-SMEs, has encountered great difficulties in recent years in adapting to the change in consumer habits resulting from the digitalization process.
This situation has been exacerbated following the COVID-19 pandemic, which has slowed sales in retail outlets and boosted e-commerce. For the commerce sector to meet the challenges arising from the acceleration of digital transformation, it is necessary to equip it with state-of-the-art digital tools, platforms and services, as well as to boost its capability for innovation.
With these objectives in mind, a Program to Support Commerce through digital technologies will be implemented, consisting of three main lines of action:
- The Technology Fund for the modernization of trade.
- The Connected Commerce Platform.
- The Sustainable Markets program.
In parallel, the internationalization of the economy will be supported through various export and foreign investment support programs that incorporate the use of digital technologies. Among them, the following stand out:
- The Innova Invest Program to support foreign investment in R&D.
- The Program for Strengthening the Spanish ecosystem of fast-growing companies.
- The boost to the digitalization of government services to support internationalization through the Trade Support Program.
- The ICEX Digital initiative for the digitalization of ICEX (including the creation of a Virtual Campus).
In September 2021, the call for aid lines for the modernization of the commercial sector was published. These aids, whose potential beneficiaries are local entities, are distributed in three lines of action: sustainable markets in commercial urban areas, sustainable markets in rural areas and strengthening of the commercial sector in touristic areas and are endowed with a budget of 104 million euros for 2021.
Similarly, in May 2022, the Council of Ministers authorized the territorial distribution among the autonomous communities and cities of the credit destined to the Trade Modernization Program: Technological Fund, for a total amount of 100 million euros for the fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
The objective of the funds is to adapt local commerce to the changes in consumer habits, focusing on digitalization and sustainability.
Objectives
Actions
This Program seeks to improve the competitiveness of the commercial sector due to its special relevance in the nation's economic fabric and its desired effect on job creation.
To this end, the Technological Fund for the modernization of commerce, the Connected Commerce Platform and the Sustainable Markets Program will be implemented.
The Innova Invest Program, part of the Recovery Plan, supports foreign investment in R&D through a line of subsidies aimed at companies with foreign capital that carry out R&D activities in Spain, so that their integration into the Spanish productive and research fabric is guaranteed.
The Program supports and assists companies in the growth phase and with high potential through specialized training and master classes, approach to entrepreneurship and technology poles and the management of the business community with positive evolution and in the process of development.
Digital ICEX aims to develop and implement digital tools to improve access to the services offered by ICEX to companies. The program aims to incorporate 2,000 clients per year to ICEX services.
