ShoppingCity Seiersberg continues to build on a period of steady expansion, with both footfall and turnover rising significantly over recent years. The center recorded more than 7.8 million visitors in 2025, marking an increase of roughly 25 percent compared to 2019. This translates into an additional 1.5 million visits annually, underscoring its regional pull.
Turnover followed a similar trajectory. Annual sales reached approximately €383 million in 2025, representing a 15 percent increase since 2019. The figures presented during the press conference indicate a consistent recovery after the pandemic dip in 2020 and a gradual return to growth thereafter, as shown in the performance charts covering 2019 to 2025.
Targets for 2026 suggest further, though moderate, expansion. The center aims to reach 8 million visitors and €400 million in turnover, signaling confidence in continued demand despite a slightly softer start to the year.
From Shopping Destination to Hybrid Platform
The management frames this growth as the result of a broader strategic shift. ShoppingCity Seiersberg is positioning itself less as a conventional mall and more as a multifunctional platform that integrates retail, services, gastronomy, and entertainment.
As managing director Anton Cech notes, the center is actively strengthening its profile as both a retail and leisure destination while continuing to attract new concepts and partnerships. He points to the first half of 2026, with new tenants such as Søstrene Grene and Thalia, as evidence of a continued expansion of the offer and a deliberate effort to diversify the tenant mix.
Recent arrivals illustrate this approach. In 2025, brands such as Comma, Skechers, and Spa Ceylon joined the tenant roster, while 2026 has already seen openings including Søstrene Grene. Further additions, such as Thalia and the Danish discount retailer Normal, are expected to reinforce the center’s role as a diversified retail environment.
Integrating Mobility Into the Retail Environment
One of the more notable developments is the integration of electric mobility into the mall setting. The arrival of BYD in late 2025 reflects a broader attempt to embed new forms of consumption and service into everyday retail environments.
The presence of an automotive showroom inside the center follows a logic that aligns with changing consumer behavior. Mobility, like retail, is increasingly experience driven and benefits from high footfall locations. Data shared at the press event highlights the rapid growth of the electric vehicle segment in Austria, with BYD alone surpassing 14,000 vehicles on the road and achieving over 1,000 new registrations in March 2026.
This convergence of sectors suggests a broader redefinition of what constitutes relevant tenant categories in contemporary retail spaces.
Experience as a Competitive Factor
Alongside retail diversification, the center is placing greater emphasis on experiential elements. Gastronomy, events, and curated brand presentations are intended to extend dwell time and strengthen emotional engagement with visitors.
Cech describes this shift as part of a broader ambition to further develop the location into a destination where shopping, leisure, and social interaction converge. The goal is not only to attract visitors but to increase the quality and duration of their stay.
Investment and Environmental Measures
The transformation is supported by ongoing investment in infrastructure and sustainability. Around €3 million is being allocated in 2026 to upgrades that include spatial improvements and a redesign of the center’s exterior facade.
Environmental measures form a central component of this investment cycle. The installation of a large photovoltaic system, described as the largest of its kind in a shopping center in the region, generates approximately 1 million kWh of electricity annually. This covers about 15 percent of the center’s energy demand and reduces carbon emissions by roughly 182 tons per year.
Such initiatives indicate a shift toward integrating sustainability into operational standards rather than treating it as a separate layer.
(Image: Christian Guzy and Martin Klein, owners of ShoppingCity Seiersberg, present the new photovoltaic installation on the center’s rooftop.)
Outlook: Incremental Expansion, Structural Change
The outlook for the remainder of 2026 remains cautiously optimistic. While early-year figures show slight declines in both footfall and turnover, the pipeline of new tenants and ongoing investments point to continued structural development.
Cech emphasizes that the center’s future lies in its ability to adapt and to actively shape new retail formats through partnerships and innovation. In this sense, ShoppingCity Seiersberg is not only responding to change in the sector but seeking to define its next phase.
In this context, growth is not defined solely by scale, but by the ability to adapt to changing patterns of consumption and to integrate new forms of everyday activity into the retail landscape.
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