The consequences of the corona pandemic will continue to pose major challenges for stationary trade in 2022. Experts suspect that the negative developments on the US market with vacancies, high rental prices and strong competition from online providers will soon be observed in Germany as well. In addition, investors and project developers have become much more cautious after the boom years. The operators of shopping centers want to counteract this trend with new concepts – such as a stronger focus on entertainment. “In the future, a significant transformation process with a lot of restructuring is to be expected in Germany, especially in large inner-city shopping centers and department stores,” says EHI retail expert Marco Atzberger on the results of the Shopping Center Report 2022.
Furthermore 493 shopping centers in Germany
At the beginning of 2022, as in the previous year, 493 shopping centers with a minimum area of over 10,000 sqm were being operated in Germany. The total number remained unchanged for the second time – despite a new opening in Fürth, which took place on the site of an earlier center. The total area increased only slightly to almost 16 million square meters. In the current calendar year, only isolated projects are expected to be implemented in the German shopping center market. The total number could increase by two to three objects by the end of the year. For the next few years (including 2022), the EHI is aware of 15 shopping center plans – and thus significantly fewer than in the planning lists of previous years.
With regard to revitalizing and redesigning existing properties, there is still a clear reluctance. Last year the list of revitalization projects included 27 objects. This year the number has dropped to 20 objects.
City districts in trend
In contrast, the construction of city quarters with mixed-use properties is booming and has quintupled in Germany within a decade. In the past year alone, the construction of another 100 urban quarters, which combine living, hotel, work and shopping, began. Neighborhood developments in Germany can be observed above all in metropolises such as Berlin, Hamburg, Nuremberg and Frankfurt.
In addition, retail parks in district locations of large cities, in medium-sized and especially in small towns are increasingly in focus, after all, locations with generous parking spaces not far from the city limits offer a convenient shopping experience.
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