Forum users report October economic slowdown in Spain
Spanish forum users describe empty shops and long car loans, but these are personal impressions without official confirmation.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The economic slowdown already felt by suppliers
In a forum thread, several participants describe signs of economic exhaustion in October. Two suppliers consulted by an industrial entrepreneur describe the situation bluntly: one is "100% idle with no work" and the other accepts unprofitable orders just to keep workers employed. According to sales reps, distribution is also suffering: in some stores "not even a fly enters." This is not an isolated data point, according to participants. It is a pattern that, they say, has been repeating for months and is now intensifying.
Spending slows down, but not for everyone
Consumption shows a duality that causes confusion. While one participant claims to have spent 100 euros in September and 49 euros so far in October, another admits spending 12,000 euros in 17 days on flights, hotels, and Kobe beef. The gap between them is not just financial: it is about expectations. The first practices what he calls "lonchafinismo" (extreme frugality); the second admits being "a corrupt person and a sink of vices" who now needs liquidity. Both extremes coexist in the same economy, according to the thread's accounts.
"October's climb will be terrifying", says someone who just returned from Asia with eight francs in their account. It is not an exaggeration, according to this person: deferred payments to Hacienda (tax authority), back-to-school costs, and energy bills accumulate in the same month. Diesel at 100 euros per tank—an outrage for those filling up—adds pressure on working families, according to one participant. Real inflation, measured in the shopping basket rather than harmonized CPI, is perceived as "out of control," and some forum calculations point to 10% by year-end.
High street retail empties out while premises become housing
Traditional retail is dying quietly, according to several participants. In Madrid, closing shops are converted into homes, or tourist apartments if large enough. Complaints are unanimous among those involved: "High street retail... there are only cockroaches on the high street." Urban transformation is not neutral, they argue: it expels economic activity, raises land prices, and turns entire neighborhoods into dormitories or short-term rentals. Meanwhile, physiotherapists, dentists, vets, and gyms proliferate. These businesses survive because they cover needs that cannot be postponed, according to one user's observation.
The paradox is that the same street emptying of shops fills with terraces. "Terraces are full; if you don't book, you won't get a table at the restaurant." Hospitality consumption remains the last refuge of discretionary spending but does not compensate for retail closures, participants note. Some interpret this as social infantilization: people preferring easy dopamine from a coffee out over building wealth. Others simply see a society adapting to precarity as best it can.
Credit stretched to ten years to pay for a car
The vehicle trading sector offers one of the most revealing data points of the month, according to a participant. 90% of transactions are financed, and this summer, the threshold where more than half of these financings are over 10 years was surpassed. Ten years to pay for a car. And we are not talking about premium vehicles: they are old cars or Chinese brands likely to not outlive the loan itself, according to that account. The buyer's obsession is keeping monthly installments under 150 euros. When an 800-euro breakdown occurs, the castle collapses.
Extending terms is the classic sign of an economy that has exhausted its short-term debt capacity, according to one user's interpretation. Payments are stretched to maintain consumption, but the future is mortgaged. The problem is not just financial: the car becomes a burden preventing any other project. Someone dedicating 150 euros a month for a decade to a depreciating vehicle is not buying mobility; they are buying time.
Metal cools down: from closing orders in September to nothing in October
The industrial sector sends the most worrying signal, according to a participant. Orders were closing normally in September; in the first half of October, "nothing comes in." Complaints are widespread, he says, among aluminum, iron, and hardware sales reps. "It's starting to scare me", summarizes someone who has seen it all. Falling orders in basic industry anticipate what comes next, in his opinion: less production, less employment, less consumption. It is the domino effect that leading indicators have been announcing for months, according to him.
The pattern repeats in other sectors, according to accounts. Distribution, the link between factory and store, is "very stagnant." Suppliers who once rejected low-margin orders now accept them to avoid layoffs. It is survival logic, according to one user: better to work at a loss than stop the plant. But this strategy has an expiration date, he argues. When margins run out, adjustment will come.
Why talk about elections if the economy is bad?
The connection between economic slowdown and early elections looms over the conversation. "Could this be one of the reasons for the elections?", asks whoever launched the initial analysis. There is no closed answer, but the hypothesis makes sense, according to him: when indicators deteriorate, governments prefer to call elections before damage becomes irreversible. The question is whether voters will punish management or if, as peine before, the official recovery narrative will impose itself over daily experience.
Social perception has become clearer, according to a participant. A walk from Barcelona's upscale neighborhoods to working-class areas reveals differences previously blurred: not just in clothing, but in physical state and faces. "People up top seem happy and active; as you go down, faces change." That fracture is not new but has become more visible, he says. And when inequality is plain to see, social unrest finds fertile ground.
The October slowdown is not a typical financial crisis, according to participants. It is something quieter: suppliers working at a loss, shops closing, cars financed over a decade, and families counting deposit money. The question is not if the economy is cooling, but how long the official narrative will take to acknowledge it, they say. If the pattern holds, January's climb will be steeper than October's. And then there will be no room to deny it.
In a forum thread, several participants describe signs of economic exhaustion in October. Two suppliers consulted by an industrial entrepreneur describe the situation bluntly: one is "100% idle with no work" and the other accepts unprofitable orders just to keep workers employed. According to sales reps, distribution is also suffering: in some stores "not even a fly enters." This is not an isolated data point, according to participants. It is a pattern that, they say, has been repeating for months and is now intensifying.
Spending slows down, but not for everyone
Consumption shows a duality that causes confusion. While one participant claims to have spent 100 euros in September and 49 euros so far in October, another admits spending 12,000 euros in 17 days on flights, hotels, and Kobe beef. The gap between them is not just financial: it is about expectations. The first practices what he calls "lonchafinismo" (extreme frugality); the second admits being "a corrupt person and a sink of vices" who now needs liquidity. Both extremes coexist in the same economy, according to the thread's accounts.
"October's climb will be terrifying", says someone who just returned from Asia with eight francs in their account. It is not an exaggeration, according to this person: deferred payments to Hacienda (tax authority), back-to-school costs, and energy bills accumulate in the same month. Diesel at 100 euros per tank—an outrage for those filling up—adds pressure on working families, according to one participant. Real inflation, measured in the shopping basket rather than harmonized CPI, is perceived as "out of control," and some forum calculations point to 10% by year-end.
High street retail empties out while premises become housing
Traditional retail is dying quietly, according to several participants. In Madrid, closing shops are converted into homes, or tourist apartments if large enough. Complaints are unanimous among those involved: "High street retail... there are only cockroaches on the high street." Urban transformation is not neutral, they argue: it expels economic activity, raises land prices, and turns entire neighborhoods into dormitories or short-term rentals. Meanwhile, physiotherapists, dentists, vets, and gyms proliferate. These businesses survive because they cover needs that cannot be postponed, according to one user's observation.
The paradox is that the same street emptying of shops fills with terraces. "Terraces are full; if you don't book, you won't get a table at the restaurant." Hospitality consumption remains the last refuge of discretionary spending but does not compensate for retail closures, participants note. Some interpret this as social infantilization: people preferring easy dopamine from a coffee out over building wealth. Others simply see a society adapting to precarity as best it can.
Credit stretched to ten years to pay for a car
The vehicle trading sector offers one of the most revealing data points of the month, according to a participant. 90% of transactions are financed, and this summer, the threshold where more than half of these financings are over 10 years was surpassed. Ten years to pay for a car. And we are not talking about premium vehicles: they are old cars or Chinese brands likely to not outlive the loan itself, according to that account. The buyer's obsession is keeping monthly installments under 150 euros. When an 800-euro breakdown occurs, the castle collapses.
Extending terms is the classic sign of an economy that has exhausted its short-term debt capacity, according to one user's interpretation. Payments are stretched to maintain consumption, but the future is mortgaged. The problem is not just financial: the car becomes a burden preventing any other project. Someone dedicating 150 euros a month for a decade to a depreciating vehicle is not buying mobility; they are buying time.
Metal cools down: from closing orders in September to nothing in October
The industrial sector sends the most worrying signal, according to a participant. Orders were closing normally in September; in the first half of October, "nothing comes in." Complaints are widespread, he says, among aluminum, iron, and hardware sales reps. "It's starting to scare me", summarizes someone who has seen it all. Falling orders in basic industry anticipate what comes next, in his opinion: less production, less employment, less consumption. It is the domino effect that leading indicators have been announcing for months, according to him.
The pattern repeats in other sectors, according to accounts. Distribution, the link between factory and store, is "very stagnant." Suppliers who once rejected low-margin orders now accept them to avoid layoffs. It is survival logic, according to one user: better to work at a loss than stop the plant. But this strategy has an expiration date, he argues. When margins run out, adjustment will come.
Why talk about elections if the economy is bad?
The connection between economic slowdown and early elections looms over the conversation. "Could this be one of the reasons for the elections?", asks whoever launched the initial analysis. There is no closed answer, but the hypothesis makes sense, according to him: when indicators deteriorate, governments prefer to call elections before damage becomes irreversible. The question is whether voters will punish management or if, as peine before, the official recovery narrative will impose itself over daily experience.
Social perception has become clearer, according to a participant. A walk from Barcelona's upscale neighborhoods to working-class areas reveals differences previously blurred: not just in clothing, but in physical state and faces. "People up top seem happy and active; as you go down, faces change." That fracture is not new but has become more visible, he says. And when inequality is plain to see, social unrest finds fertile ground.
The October slowdown is not a typical financial crisis, according to participants. It is something quieter: suppliers working at a loss, shops closing, cars financed over a decade, and families counting deposit money. The question is not if the economy is cooling, but how long the official narrative will take to acknowledge it, they say. If the pattern holds, January's climb will be steeper than October's. And then there will be no room to deny it.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (101 replies).
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