Sweet Lisbon 1 | Page 33

Opening Hours Ice cream can be served the whole day. Since average temperatures in Lisbon are really high, it is possible for ice cream providers to serve ice cream all year. Santini Chiado opens at 11 a.m. and closes at midnight. Nannarella and Artisani in São Bento are open for customers from noon until 10 p.m. Amorino beats them all with opening hours from 10.30 a.m. until midnight. Differences in opening hours before noon are mostly negligible. Peak times for ice cream consumption are the following. Most of the Santini and Amorino customers visit the ice cream stores during the week from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. Another popular visiting time is after 9 p.m., meaning that a lot of people go to ice cream parlors for dessert. On Saturdays, the number of customers visiting ice cream parlors after 9 p.m. is sometimes higher than the number of ice cream customers during the day. Nannarella customers primarily buy ice cream from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. In conclusion, the four competitors are on the same level regarding competition in opening hours during the day. All stores are open from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m., which is considered the major time period for customers to enter ice cream parlors. However, Amorino and Santini have an advantage compared to Nannarella and Artisani in that they serve customers until midnight. As we have seen in our analysis, many customers go to have some ice cream after dinner, especially on weekends. Nevertheless, it has to be noted that opening hours vary by store location and customer fluctuations. Therefore, generalizations have to be made carefully. 32