Due to the industry’s serious changes we decided to substantially expand the scope of our reporting: more retail, more leisure, more gastronomy, and more mixed-use.
JLL’s 2025 Consumer Experience Survey, which gathered responses from more than 12,000 people across19 markets and 64 cities, shows that consumers are quietly but decisively raising their expectations for physical places.
Retail real estate is entering a new era. Physical places act not just as trading environments but as powerful media platforms. Portland Design’s Head of Data & Analytics, Paddy Gamble, shares how emotional engagement, digital reach, and behavioral insights are reshaping the success of places.
At the XVI PRCH Retail Awards, the industry awards gala of the Polish Council for Shopping Centres, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has received 5 Gold Awards, including honours for individual executives as well as for the company’s ESG strategy and its flagship destination Westfield Arkadia in Warsaw.
Union Investment and NIQ-GfK’s Global Retail Attractiveness Index (GRAI) for the third quarter of 2025 confirms a continuation of the positive trend of the European retail market that has characterized the year so far.
Today, every other shopper visiting one of the Cushman & Wakefield managed shopping centers in Spain, is a loyalty club member. Here’s how it all began.
As retail evolves, so does the way investors measure value. For Eric Decouvelaere, Head of EMEA Urban Destinations Operator Division at CBRE, the winning formula combines location, strong execution, and emotional connection.
Portland Design’s Managing Director Ibrahim Ibrahim explores how culture, community, and belonging are redefining the purpose of retail spaces – and how brands can build future-ready value beyond the shelf.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) announces the inauguration of the newly rebranded Westfield Černý Most shopping centre in Prague, including an extension that introduces new shopping, dining and entertainment experiences. With more than 30 new retail and restaurant offers and an expanded, next-generation cinema experience, the destination now spans approximately 94,100 sqm of GLA and 180 units.
Westfield Shopping City Süd (SCS) demonstrates what the future of shopping centers looks like: Top international brands, nationwide store premieres, and an expanded premium segment meet a new entertainment area featuring bowling lanes, escape rooms, karaoke, and arcade games. A culinary offering ranging from iconic US burgers to French bakery artistry and Thai brunch creations is added to the mix. The result: a destination that no longer only attracts people for shopping, but brings together visitors of all generations more often, for longer, and in more diverse ways – setting new benchmarks for footfall.
The retail destination MILLENNIUM City is expanding its brand offering with the addition of TK Maxx. The new store, opened on November 6, brings another international retailer to the urban mixed-use center and reinforces its position as a versatile hub for shopping and leisure in Vienna.
In its 30th year, MAPIC took a more introspective turn. The fair may have felt smaller and calmer, but behind the scenes, new ideas about the future of retail and placemaking are quietly taking shape.
As Europe’s retailers and landlords head into the most decisive quarter of the year, success hinges not only on footfall, but on clarity. With up to 40% of annual revenue at stake, real-time sales collection and automated reporting have become critical tools to track performance, manage risk, and capture opportunities. From tenant health to turnover rent, automation is transforming holiday trading from a logistical scramble into a data-driven advantage.
In Central and Eastern Europe, BIG has pursued a dual-track strategy: building a strong footprint in the Balkans via BIG CEE, and entering Poland only three years ago. Within this short period, the Polish arm has grown to a portfolio of 10 operating retail parks, with three more in development, making it one of the fastest-growing players in the country. To understand how BIG managed such rapid expansion in one of Europe’s most competitive retail markets, we spoke with Eran Levy, Chief Operating Executive of BIG Poland.
Across Europe, shopping habits vary widely by generation. For retailers, tailoring strategies is key to staying competitive as the recent study “European Retail in 2024 and 2025“ published by NIQ Geomarketing explains.
BIG CEE has rapidly grown into a leading force in Southeast Europe’s retail real estate market. CEO Lev Weiss discusses the company’s journey, from its first projects in Serbia to major milestones across the Balkans, and shares his vision for future expansion and brand building in the region.
Vienna’s Westfield Donau Zentrum is celebrating its 50th anniversary under the motto “50 Years of Future – Shaping the Shopping Experience of Tomorrow.” Austria’s largest shopping and leisure destination is not only looking back at five decades of transformation but also forward, with a clear focus on innovation, sustainability, and urban quality of life.
QTU, Albania’s first shopping center, marks its 20th anniversary – celebrating two decades of redefining retail, leisure, and family experiences. The milestone highlights a story of innovation, customer loyalty, and strong emotional connection. Its month-long anniversary campaign drew record footfall and reinforced QTU’s position as Albania’s most established and future-ready shopping destination.
The retail market in Türkiye is undergoing radical change: There are fewer but stronger new store openings, record rents in Istanbul’s prime locations, and global brands positioning themselves alongside ambitious Turkish players expanding abroad. With steady demand fueled by tourism and projects such as Florentia Village and Tersane İstanbul redefining urban destinations, 2025 has been all about selective growth, seamless customer touchpoints, and retail at the heart of city life.
The traditional formula of “square meters times footfall” has become less and less relevant. Silvio Kirchmair, CEO of umdasch The Store Makers, explains why retail properties today need to be places that offer experiences, partnerships, and pleasant atmospheres to survive the retail revolution. Away from pure space and toward lively, multi-functional locations – that’s how brick-and-mortar retail can make a comeback.
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