Search Results for: study

With the promotion of Dr. Philipp Hoog to partner as of July 1, 2025, BBE Handelsberatung underscores its long-standing commitment to shaping the future of retail and consumer goods through expert strategy and innovation.

Hamburg-based real estate developer HBB has once again been recognized as Germany’s top retail developer, receiving the prestigious European Real Estate Brand Award for the third year in a row. The accolade highlights HBB’s strength in innovation, sustainability, and brand resilience in a rapidly evolving market.

Changing consumer habits, rising living costs, and a growing awareness of the right balance between price and quality have intensified competition for customers. A recent study by Statista focusing on Germany’s consumer market explores how consumers make purchasing decisions today, what influences their behavior, and which long-term trends are emerging.

SmartGifty is a web-based gift card management solution for shopping centers and retailers. Through the solution companies can analyze a number of statistics to plan effective marketing activities and have control over the gift card stock. MASS is a prominent Slovenian client of SmartGifty. By implementing the solution the shoe retailer gained growth especially in its online channel.

As the potential for retailers to generate footfall themselves is becoming more limited, shopping centers in Germany need to closely examine their own management strategies, and their approach to repositioning, revealed an expert panel at the joint press conference “Outlook Retail Real Estate 2025”, as they examined the German commercial real estate market’s current challenges and opportunities.

SmartGifty is a web-based gift card management solution, especially useful for shopping centers. Through this solutions shopping centers’ management or marketing department have complete access to all data for all shops and all centers in the chain. They can analyze a number of statistics to plan effective marketing activities and have control over the gift card stock. Supernova was one of the first clients of SmartGifty and Supernova gift Card is the most popular Shopping center. Supernova CEO Markus Pinggera talks about his experience with the solution.

In an interview with ACROSS, Joachim Stumpf, Managing Director of BBE Holding and IPH Handelsimmobilien, analyzes the role of retail real estate in light of the current economic and social situation. His conclusion: “Advancing polarization is a key issue when it comes to discussing what options we have to counter the transformation in retail. Against that backdrop, we also need to rethink retail and locations. Despite all of the challenges, good and individual types of use can be found for all properties – but getting there can be painful.”

Jurij Triller is the CEO of Smart Octopus Solutions. Together with a co-founder, he has developed a smart gift card solution that offers a closed loop to customers and partners, unlike comparable products. He talks to ACROSS about the advantages of being independent from a major player like Visa or Mastercard, what data insights he can ensure as a result, and why personalization and customization are key.

In an interview with ACROSS, Joachim Stumpf, Managing Director of BBE Holding and IPH Handelsimmobilien, analyzes the role of retail real estate in light of the current economic and social situation. His conclusion: “The advancing polarization is a key issue when we discuss what options we have to counter the transformation in retail. Against this backdrop, we also need to rethink retail and locations. Despite all the challenges, good and individual types of use can be found for all properties – but getting there can be painful.”

Over the past decade, the retail landscape has undergone a seismic transformation redefining the very essence of the sector. Customers’ expectations of convenience, personalization, experience, community, and sustainability have changed dramatically. The purpose of physical stores is being redefined, with goods and products taking a backseat to experiences. Today, successful retail destinations are those that cultivate connection, joy, and community.

The BALFIN Group has brought nothing less than the idea of shopping centers to Albania. The group is not only a developer and operator of assets but has also developed into one of the most influential retail and wholesale players in the Western Balkans. “It takes courage, trust, and patience to break new ground,” says Julian Mane, Vice President Retail of the BALFIN Group. “But whoever is among the first on a new market will also be the most successful.” In the extensive interview with ACROSS, Mane explains, among other things, how he convinces brands to enter the Albanian market, what they can expect there, and why retail parks will be the future concept for the country.

The General Store, an Australian consulting agency, presented the 50 coolest stores in the world at the World Retail Congress in Paris. According to the consulting agency, the so-called coolness factor is of great importance at the moment: in addition to design, service, and impressive experiences, creativity, cult status, and commercial viability were decisive factors in the evaluation.

Consumers in Europe continue to be affected by various crises. After inflation peaked in 2022, 2023 was characterized by an adjustment to the increased cost of living. Additionally, the multiple global crises and the loss of purchasing power caused uncertainty, which led to concerns and a change in consumer behavior.

As a recent study focusing on product flows and returned apparel revealed, each year European consumers return millions of new products to retailers, which quite often do not see a second owner again.

Norbert W. Scheele has worked for C&A in various functions and countries for more than 40 years. Not only does he have four decades of first-hand experience dealing with change in the retail sector, he has also overseen the expansion into Eastern Europe. At a time when the mood in the world of retail is more divergent than ever between the East and the West, when the middle segment is shrinking in favor of luxury and discount stores and consumers as well as employees seem to have become more and more demanding, it is all the more worthwhile to take a look at the situation and the development of retail in Austria and Europe with an experienced retail expert like Norbert W. Scheele. For 6 years he is as well vice president of the Austrian retail association.

The average retail purchasing power in Europe is 6,517 euros per capita. However, there are significant differences among the 25 analyzed European countries: At 12,067 euros per capita, Luxembourgers have the most money to spend in the retail sector. Romania, on the other hand, has the lowest retail spending potential. There are also strong regional differences within the respective countries. These are some of the results of the newly released GfK study on retail purchasing power in Europe.