Retail sales in Austria
120 B. €
15.1
100 B. €
14.1
12.1
11.1
100.1
11.2
95.4
80 B. €
11.5
91.2
87.6
10.6
9.2
84.2
8.7
8.2
78.9
7.6
74.4
74.0
60 B. €
71.4
69.8
67.2
40 B. €
20 B. €
0
2016 2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024*
2025*
2026*
Stationary turnover (gross)
Online turnover (gross)
*Forecast, Source: RegioData Research GmbH 2024
retail leases. Both sides are attempting to avoid risks: the lessors through the longest possible protection of income flows, the tenants through short commitments, possibly connected with exit clauses, for example when turnover targets are not met. Other consequences of this security consciousness are higher deposits (in part up to six to 12 month’s rents) and the clearly declining readiness of owners to finance tenant-specific fittings. The tenant side has been increasingly successful in negotiating rental rates. On new rentals, the result almost always equals the previous rent as an upper limit plus indexing, but contract closings are often noticeably lower (apart from absolute top locations with high demand – above all in Vienna’s inner city.) High demand, low offering for gastro The demand for gastronomy space has been surprisingly strong, especially from in- ternational chains. It is contrasted, however,
by a rather limited offering because many owners are reluctant to make the substanti- al investments (environmental, hygiene and emission requirements). A further factor is that the assignment of existing gastronomy space to new tenants is often complicated by excess demands for transfer fees. Generally speaking, it has become virtually impossible to rent gastronomy space wi- thout outdoor “Schanigarten” facilities – a trend that has increased since corona. Demand from the service sector is also steady and sound: Fitness, health, beauty etc. are turning to vacant space at weaker locations that is no longer, or only to a very limited extent, attractive for conventional brick and mortar. Declining in retail space New retail space is currently under construction in only homeopathic quan- tities. The total volume of selling space is declining because of continuous market
exits (in part, as a result of bankruptcies). However, Vienna has developed somewhat better than the Austrian average as a retail location due to the important impulses created by booming city tourism and steady population growth.
Austria | 2024/25
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