At the end of 2019, and in close connection with the restructuring of ministerial departments culminating in the creation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, the state-owned Correos company launches an initiative that adds to the long list of initiatives aimed at addressing the so-called demographic challenges in Spain (identified by the administration as depopulation, territorial dispersion, progressive aging, low birth rate and the effects of the floating population). _x000D_
The launch of an online trade/distribution platform – the marketplaces – is accompanied by a media marketing campaign with the hashtag #yomequedo that emphasizes the role of this platform in offering small local producers the possibility to make their products visible, market and reach the whole of Spain. The dense network of post offices and the advantageous positioning from the point of view of economic conditions were among the strong points to consolidate the format in Spanish rural areas. On the other hand, the outbreak of the COVID pandemic and the restrictions of the last few years have given a notable boost to online commerce and to the rapid digitalization of many companies, even small and medium-sized ones._x000D_
In this scenario, this paper analyzes the territorial and sectorial implantation of the companies and producers that offer their products on the Correos Market platform in order to evaluate their diffusion in Spanish rural areas.

Dolores Sánchez Aguilera // Jaime Martínez Ruiz // Ángela Martínez Rivas
Dept. de Geografia, Universitat de Barcelona

 
ID Abstract: 955