Retail Market Report Austria | 2018

Outlook

Consumer demands influenced by the demographic shift

The retail sector will also be influenced by three major social trends in the coming years that will sustainably alter the structure of Brick & Mortar retailing: the change in spending habits, the demographic shift and the growth of online retailing. These factors are responsible for the decline in frequencies as well as per square metre revenues. Countering these trends requires an in-depth understanding of the latest developments plus an excellent international contact network to convince attractive retailers of the benefits of market entry in Austria and to create specially designed concepts for operators and developers.

The average age of the Austrian population is rising steadily due to the increase in life expectancy and despite the high level of immigration. This demographic shift is also changing the demands on retail space. There will be an increased focus on target group- oriented concepts, which also include spending on events and increase the time spent in a shopping centre. An expanded service offering, e.g. style advisors, storage services, shopping guides etc., will become a more important success factor in the future.

Shop less, experience more

The essential combination of online and offline

Consumers‘ spending habits are changing at an increasing speed. Shopping is less important, experience is the word of the day. Gastronomy, vacations and other recreational activities are consuming a greater share of household income. Shopping centres can also benefit from the trend to of dining out with an attractive gastronomy offering. In the future, the culinary offering is expected to be just as important as the classical retail mix and gastronomy will be a key factor in deciding which shopping centre to visit.

Online retailing grew by a further six per cent in 2017, meaning substantially stronger than Brick & Mortar retail. Retailers, but also shopping centre operators, are therefore challenged to integrate their online and offline businesses even stronger in the sense of an omni-channel strategy. Click&Collect concepts are becoming established in a growing number of branches, and operators as well as developers must address the resulting shift in space requirements towards increased warehouse areas.