Help on Comerciante profession

Hi everyone,

I found the death certificate of my 3rd great grandfather he died in (1913). On the record it says he was a comerciante. This surprised me because this is the first ancestor that I have found where labrador or jornalero is not listed as the profession.. Does any one know how important or significant the profession of comerciante was in the early 1900's?

Thanks,

Rafael