A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF THE RESILIENCE OF PORTUGAL'S COMMERCIAL FABRIC TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The current Covid-19 pandemic has had profound impacts worldwide. Social confinement and isolation suddenly appeared in stark contrast to a clearly more globalized and mobile world. In economic terms, this situation has led to the closure of several companies and high numbers of unemployment. In this article we focus on the commercial sector that, in the current context, faces unparalleled challenges. The objective of this research is to provide a preliminary assessment of the answer given by the commercial fabric in Portugal to face the mandatory closure of part of the commercial companies and the duty of social confinement. An analysis carried out during the period in which the measures were at their peak allow us to conclude that a strong targeting for e-commerce has been a strategy of retail resilience used to minimize the reduction in sales volume. The temporal sustainability of the measures initiated has yet to be determined, since, although crucial for the resilience of commercial establishments in this period of pandemic, it is preliminary to draw conclusions about their sustainability over time.