Shops in Barcelona open their doors between 9am and 10am in the morning, and generally close for lunch at 1.30pm or 2pm. They open again in the afternoon between 4pm and 5pm and remain open until 8pm or 8.30pm in the evening. Nevertheless, it should be noted that many shopping centres and larger establishments do not close at midday.

Many shops and all department stores and shopping centres open Saturday afternoons, while all shops close Sundays, except for a few dates when they are permitted to open.

Sales (Rebaixes or Rebajas) occur twice per year with the main New Year Sales starting on 9th January. The summer sales period starts late July and runs for about 6 weeks.