Retail and retail real estate operators are being challenged from multiple directions. Digitalization, e-commerce, AI-driven retail, changing consumer behavior, weak economic growth, downsizing of stores, vacancies, sustainability regulations and rising operational costs are reshaping the industry at an unprecedented pace.
Shopping malls, once celebrated as the “temples of consumption”, have lost much of their appeal. Operators continue to experiment with new concepts to maintain relevance. The dominant answer has become the enhancement of the “experience factor”: larger food and beverage offers, upgraded food courts, cinemas, bowling centers, escape rooms and immersive entertainment concepts. “Experience per square meter” increasingly seems to replace sales productivity as the industry’s unofficial new KPI.
Once dismissed as overly functional, car-dependent and architecturally uninspiring, retail parks were often regarded as the ugly side of retail real estate: anonymous clusters of big boxes at the urban fringe, criticized for land consumption, soil sealing and their impact on traditional high streets.
Today, the picture looks very different. Across Europe, retail parks are attracting investors, tenants and consumers alike. Not despite their simplicity, but because of it. In an age of economic uncertainty and accelerated daily routines, convenience has become a competitive advantage. Retail parks do not promise spectacle. They promise efficiency.
This ACROSS Online Special explores why the former “ugly duckling” of retail real estate has become one of the industry’s strongest performing formats. It is a story less about excitement and entertainment than about functionality, accessibility and relevance to everyday life.
Whether they are loved or not is beside the point. Retail parks offer something consumers increasingly value: simple access, affordable products, easy parking, quick shopping, and the ability to move on with life. In today’s retail landscape, that may be the most powerful proposition.
Yours sincerely,
The ACROSS Editorial Team
