Nobody wants to spend three hours on a Saturday. And that’s why hypermarkets go down
For decades, hypermarket was the dominant format in the collective imaginary of mass consumption. A huge parking, infinite halls, “all under the same roof” as a promise of efficiency and a comforting feeling of abundance. It was almost aspirational, a happy import. Today that promise does not advance, but goes back. According to the latest Mercasa data cited by The economistsupermarkets already concentrate 91.8% of the commercial food area in Spain. Hypermarkets, on the other hand, have fallen to 8.2%. It is a modest percentage change – 1.3% loss in a decade – but very symbolic: the consolidation of one model and the replication of the other. Not even the investment effort of Alcampo or Carrefour have reversed the trend: in a decade, the hyper have opened 37 new stores and added more than 27,000 square meters. But its relative weight continues to fall. Even in market value there is stagnation. After a postpandemic rebound, the Híper channel has returned to 13% quota, the same level as in 2021. And the format that grows most is ‘great supermarket’, that of more than 1,000 square meters. In 2014 there were 3,501 stores like this, in 2024 were 4,836. Almost half of the food sales surface in Spain is in the hands of this specific supermarket. The reading of some experts such as Kantar points to a combination of factors: Smaller homes. Average age of the population. Urban context that favors small and close purchases. Less culture of the car than in countries like the United States. They are elements that explain a good part of this displacement of consumption. It is not the people bought less in the hyper, but often neither considers going there. From the chains themselves recognize the turn. Alcampo recently announced a plan to reduce the size of 15 of its hypermarkets and close 25 supermarkets. He is also reforming more than 60 stores and strengthening his logistics for the online channel. All with the idea, they say, to “adapt to smaller, convenient and adapted establishments to new needs.” The parent group, Auchan retail, also crosses difficulties in other markets, especially in France, with two consecutive years of fall in sales. Carrefour does not escape either. Although he bought 46 Supercor stores, Its quota has fallen to 9.8% and Its matrix has also announced adjustments. It is early to know if we are facing the definitive sunset of the hypermarket or if it is a lower correction, but although it maintains objective advantages (assortment, price, promotions, suitability for those who need to go by car …), and it is likely that it will keep its relevance in suburban contexts, the tendency direction seems clear: the battle by surface, frequency and closeness is won by the supermarket. Maybe Change is not as commercial as mental: we no longer think about purchase as an event (which requires going to a very specific place, getting the car, dedicating more time, keeping it a weekly time) but as a more spontaneous and functional routine. And in that logic, the supermarket – Ágil, close, practical, integrated in our day to day – has an advantage. It is not that the hypermarket has failed, but that the context has changed. In Xataka | Mercadona has eaten its competition in Spain thanks to a recipe as successful as Leonina: 3.88% Outstanding image | Annie Vo in Unspash
