Success strategies for Austria’s retail trade
Cities need more than just retail Standort+Markt shareholder and corporate officer Roman Schwarzenecker on the necessary transformation of the retail landscape and bureaucratic obstacles that must be urgently removed to get brick and mortar retail back on track.
Mr Schwarzenecker: Is the situation in the branch-based retail trade really as bad as the media currently report with nervous regularity? Roman Schwarzenecker, Standort+- Markt: In connection with our publication “S+M City Retail Österreich“, we examine the 40 largest cities in Austria each year. The vacancy rate in the 24 largest inner city areas equalled 5.5 per cent in 2024 and showed a substantial increase over the previous year. That is, naturally, disappoin- ting but doesn’t mean the retail trade is generally in a bad state – in reality, the situation is very different. Developments in smaller cities are particu- larly negative, where vacancies have risen to 15.6 per cent. Small district capitals are also faced with substantially more massive issues than primary or secondary cities. Cities with a strong peripheral offering that are difficult to reach or have problems with the availability of parking find it particularly hard to support inner-city retail. However, retail is generally suffering from e-com- merce competition: It now makes up a
significant share of consumption, especially in city-relevant branches and this trend can be expected to continue in the coming years. We have also identified a certain shift in the opposite direction. An increase in vacan- cies is often accompanied by a reduction in space during the following year, and this space is directed to another (normally non-retail) use. This space is no longer included in the calculation, which leads to a decline in the vacancy rate in the next year. It would, however, be completely wrong to see this as an improvement in the situation. That’s why I always recommend a look at the data in detail. Lists that rank by vacancy rate can be very misleading.
nomy is not enough, the data clearly show this. The increase in gastro space has also been minimal, “Gastro is the new retail“ has never really materialised. In my opinion, cities and building owners have relied much too long on retail. The high rents were a great temptation to create retail space, and we now have a mono-structure that is causing problems. In the past, cities were much more multi-functional, not only with retail but also with medical and legal offices, commercial businesses and public facilities – that is also illustrated by analyses that data back to 1970. The trend is now moving in this direction. Compared with 50 years ago, the cities still have substantially more retail space than at the start of our data collection – even after the last reductions.
What would effective counterstrategies look like?
I hope we won’t see the same urban structures we had 50 years ago…
An orderly reduction in excess shop space will be necessary to address the increasing vacancies and structural shifts. Transfor- mation strategies can help to minimise vacancies and support the functional redesign of cities. A sole focus on gastro-
Certainly not, even though it’s definitely a real challenge to keep city centres attractive or, in some cases, to make them attractive again. We are seeing a general polarisation in location development. Luxury
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Retail Market Report
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