Barcelona launches Bonus Consum with 1,000 participating shops

The campaign for €10 vouchers with a minimum spend of €30 kicks off with a thousand establishments and the expectation of surpassing 2,000. In the first hour, 3,000 vouchers were downloaded.

The Barcelona City Council launched the Bonus Consum campaign on Tuesday, a programme offering €10 discounts for every €30 spent in local shops. The initiative starts with around 1,000 establishments already signed up, a figure that the organisers hope will double in the coming weeks.

The president of the Barcelona Comerç Foundation, Pròsper Puig, has stated that participation will grow: "We are confident that there will be more than 2,000," he declared, referring to the total number of expected shops, as the registration period remains open.

The response from citizens in the first hours has been swift. In the initial phase, around 3,000 vouchers were downloaded and 17 were spent, with actual consumption of approximately €700 compared to the €510 that those vouchers required as a minimum. Campaign officials interpret this data as a sign that spending is exceeding the set threshold.

Both food and non-food shops can join, with the exception of large franchises, chains, and 24-hour supermarkets. The participating establishments are spread throughout the city, with a notable presence in areas such as Sant Antoni, Sagrada Família, and Sant Andreu.

The process is straightforward: each voucher can be used for a month, and if spent within 15 days or less, the user can download another of the same amount. The limit is 3 vouchers per person. The vouchers are exclusively digital, although Puig has defended that elderly people with difficulties accessing the internet will still be able to participate because shops will assist them in downloading them.

The major innovation of this edition is the inclusion of municipal markets, with an expected 500 stalls participating, as explained by the secretary general of the Federation of Municipal Markets, Francesc Leyva. A technical issue in the registration process has meant that market shops are registering under their professional category (fishmongers, butchers, greengrocers, etc.) rather than as market stalls, which currently prevents knowing the exact number of participants of this type.

The organisers have reminded that establishments receive the amount of the vouchers within one week and that the operation is managed by Abanca, an entity experienced in this type of commercial campaign.

The City Council plans to roll out a second phase in February 2027. Puig has valued this continuity: "For us, it is fantastic; if we could ask for more, we would request a larger amount of money and three times a year, but we know that money is finite and that it is public funds."