Trade fair sector retail property: GRAND PLAZA—the marketplace for retail
EXPO REAL's GRAND PLAZA is a marketplace for all those involved in retail and retail properties to exchange ideas, discuss and find their way around the challenges and trends related to retail and retail properties.
What does EXPO REAL have to offer in the retail property segment?
The international trade fair for real estate, investment and infrastructure has established the GRAND PLAZA for all those involved in retail and retail real estate as a meeting place for retailers, investors and project developers, operators and representatives of potential locations. This is where anyone who wants to find out about the development of retail and retail property will find information and guidance—and the relevant contacts.
The GRAND PLAZA: Topics that move the industry
The GRAND PLAZA is also the stage for discussions on the hot retail topics. In 2025, the focus was on the transformation of city centers and the question of what will make our city centers attractive again in the future. Other topics included “Rents, terms, contracts” and the future of smart stores. Other topics were "rents, service charges, indexation" and the future of AI in customer loyality. Experts discussed these challenges for retailers and everyone directly or indirectly involved in retail property.
GRAND PLAZA: make use of these advantages for your success!
- Everything in one place: many exhibitors from the retail property sector in the immediate vicinity of the GRAND PLAZA
- Networking: targeted networking with decision-makers and insiders of the retail industry
- New inspiration the conference program at the GRAND PLAZA is dedicated to the retail sector
- Attractive meeting place: GRAND PLAZA market stalls and an exclusive evening event on the first day of the show
GRAND PLAZA FORUM: where the future is discussed
The GRAND PLAZA conference program not only addressed current topics, but above all discussed strategies for the future—for example, future-proof cities and shopping centers and innovative concepts for retail properties in terms of ESG and sustainability.
Impressions of the GRAND PLAZA
Besides supermarket chains such as Edeka and Rewe, discounters such as Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd, Kaufland and Lidl, Netto and Penny, drugstore chains such as dm and Rossmann, the focus of exhibitors in the retail property sector at EXPO REAL 2025 included pet supplies such as Fressnapf, non-food-Discounter as Actions as well as toom Baumarkt—in other words, precisely those that are of interest to supermarkets, specialist stores and retail parks. EXPO REAL exhibitors also included shopping center operator ECE, as well as TREI Real Estate, two companies that are continuously expanding the network of retail parks, especially in CEE/SEE.
Retail property: one term for very different formats
Retail is not just retail, as reflected in the different retail properties. When thinking of retail, people often have inner-city retail, storefronts in shopping streets or at least in the immediate vicinity in mind. Yet here, too, the representative retail spaces for expensive upscale brands differ in terms of furnishings and size from those in which most people go shopping.
City centers, however, offer retail space not only to the right and left of the shopping streets, but also in shopping centers or shopping malls, which are meanwhile almost a must in any city, concentrating retail stores and services, often with the addition of culinary offerings, cinemas, fitness centers and other attractive crowd pullers. There are also department stores that offer a wide variety of goods, however, they are now often counted among the problem children of cities because they obviously no longer attract enough customers and the comparatively large areas are in danger of becoming deserted.
And then there is the "large-scale retail", requiring more than 800 square meters of space—furniture centers, electronics stores, DIY stores and similar, and also supermarkets with a full range of products. These large-scale retailers are not always in central locations and are often located on the outskirts of cities. Both here and in the surrounding areas of medium-sized and smaller cities, an increasing number of retail parks have been emerging in recent times—a collection of different retail sectors, often with a large supermarket or discounter as the anchor tenant and other stores serving local supplies. These retail parks usually consist of a large complex of buildings and are managed and marketed by one operator.
Retail property: an increasingly difficult market
Retail has been in crisis for some time now, especially the growing e-commerce sector is putting pressure on stationary retail stores. Responding to this competition costs time and money. What is needed are multi-channel concepts that consider the changed customer behavior in the digital age.
How has the pandemic affected the retail real estate market?
The coronavirus pandemic and its lockdowns have exacerbated the challenges. While large parts of brick-and-mortar retail had to close, online retail boomed more than ever. With the end of the pandemic and a return to near-normal life, retailers were hoping for a renewed upswing, but the war in Ukraine, the resulting energy crisis, inflation, and economic uncertainties caused sales to continue to decline.
The fact is that many retailers had to give up their businesses in the wake of the pandemic, and even large chains subjected their locations to rigorous scrutiny, resulting in the permanent closure of around 30% of their locations.
Weak consumption—a lasting hurdle?
The situation in city centers continues to deteriorate. According to forecasts by the German Retail Association (HDE), around 4,500 stores will close their doors for good in 2025.
One reason for this is economic and political uncertainty among consumers, who are reluctant to spend money despite real wage increases. In fact, a significant improvement in consumer sentiment does not appear to be on the horizon. However, according to GfK, there are also no signs of a further slump in consumption.
What does the market for retail real estate look like?
Despite these negative trends, the retail real estate market has seen a rise in rental volume since the end of the pandemic, reaching around 506,000 square meters in 2024. In the first half of 2025, around 230,000 square meters of retail space was newly leased or newly opened – corresponding to the leasing volume of the two previous years (BNP PARIBAS REAL ESTATE). The downward trend in rental income appears to have come to a halt. However, Savills points out that weak consumer spending is affecting sales, leaving retailers without the funds they need for expansion. In the case of large-scale leases in particular, it is space adjustments that are driving the market; in other words, more space is being returned to the market than is being newly leased. These large spaces, in turn, are less likely to be leased to a single user, which increases pressure on owners to convert space in order to avoid vacancies and rental losses (SAVILLS).
For a long time, retail real estate was considered an "investor's darling," but in 2023, the transaction volume in this asset class slumped by around 40 percent to €4.9 billion. In 2024, investment activity in the retail market picked up slightly again, reaching €6.1 billion. However, the upward trend did not continue in 2025. Instead, the result for the first three quarters was 3.9 billion euros, 19 percent lower than in the same period of the previous year. This puts retail real estate in third place, behind residential and logistics, but still ahead of office real estate (CBRE).
Investors are currently focusing more on specialist and food markets, as well as local shopping centers and retail parks. These assets accounted for more than two-thirds of the transaction volume. They have the advantage of usually serving short-term needs, making them less susceptible to fluctuations in consumer sentiment. Tenants are often well-established chain stores that guarantee stable cash flow over the long term. And what also makes these properties attractive in times of high financing costs is that, unlike large shopping centers, their prices are usually below the €50 million mark.
In 2024, the sale of shares in the eight Signa Prime Selection department stores and the sale of shares in prominent department stores such as KaDeWe in Berlin increased the investment share of prime inner-city retail properties to 45 percent. In the first nine months of 2025, the share was 13 percent, mainly contributed by family offices, which have a keen interest in high-quality high-street properties.
Where the journey is headed: the future of retail real estate
The retail sector, and with it the market for retail properties, is in a state of upheaval. In particular, online commerce has had a disruptive effect here. Consumers have quickly become used to these digital options—not only to being able to order and have their orders delivered quickly, but also to being able to compare prices more quickly via the internet. Retailers have now adapted to this and not only offer their goods in stationary stores, but also use all digital channels—the buzzword being omnichannel—to market products and build customer loyalty. This change has however not been without consequences. Not only department stores have become problem children, because the closure of these properties means that large buildings in prominent locations in the cities are now more likely to be vacant. Even shopping centers are often struggling, despite all the attempts to attract people by offering a wider range of culinary and leisure amenities. What is particularly striking is that the intervals between efforts to adapt these temples of consumption to the ever more rapidly changing demands of customers are becoming increasingly shorter.
What does the future hold for retail real estate?
However, it is not only changing consumer behavior that is causing problems for retailers and thus for the owners and operators of retail assets. It is also consumer reluctance to spend in view of the increasingly uncertain general economic situation and increased price awareness, which is leading to a decline in brand loyalty, with the exception of lifestyle labels.
According to a study by PwC on the future of retail, the growing diversity of consumers is also a factor, which ultimately makes it more difficult to sharpen the customer focus. For example, Generation Z—the digital natives born between 1995 and 2010—have less difficulty with innovative technologies such as self-checkout registers and autonomous stores than the much-cited baby boomers, who tend to be more critical of AI solutions in particular. On the other hand, these technologies are a way to address the growing shortage of skilled workers in the retail sector. PwC estimates that around one in five retail jobs will remain unfilled by 2030.
Since the coronavirus pandemic and in view of more or less stagnating retail sales, many international chains have revised their previous expansion strategies, resulting in the closure of some locations and the expansion of others into so-called flagship stores. This is leading to a reduction in space requirements.
In this respect, a certain consolidation is taking place in inner-city shopping streets, with the specter of the "dying city center" looming large in discussions about retail and retail real estate, albeit somewhat exaggerated. It can already be observed that empty retail spaces are often being converted into restaurants and that other offerings and services are establishing themselves where chains have left a gap. Retail is changing, and with it city centers. In the future, it will certainly no longer be so easy to rent out every retail store at high prices. Perhaps we will see a return of the small stores that were previously pushed to the periphery. There may also be more other uses, but ultimately, the city center will remain a hub of urban life.
However, the city center is only one location for retail real estate. Even though it was more or less the only location for a long time and the surrounding neighborhoods and surrounding communities offered few shopping opportunities, this "shortage" has changed fundamentally. In recent years, more and more supermarkets have sprung up like mushrooms, guaranteeing at least local supply. And even in small towns, retail parks are increasingly being built, which on the one hand serve local supply needs, but also offer a range of clothing and/or sporting goods that goes beyond supermarkets, discounters, and drugstores. Large-scale facilities such as DIY and garden centers, furniture stores, and large electronics stores tend to remain isolated, as they cannot find suitable space in urban locations at prices they can afford.
This separation between inner-city retail and retail facilities in "suburban locations" is likely to continue, as urban planners are aiming for the 15-minute city, a well-mixed city where everything you need should be within a 15-minute walk of any residential location. This means that neighborhoods need not only local shopping centers, but also additional shopping and service offerings. It is also fitting that some cities are specifically supporting the establishment of local retailers and service providers in their neighborhoods. In other words, retail and retail locations will continue to diversify, but will probably also become increasingly fragmented.
Challenges in the retail real estate market
The biggest challenge for retailers at present is the economic situation, as energy prices and inflation are limiting consumers' scope for spending. Although consumer sentiment has brightened somewhat after a sharp decline in 2022, it remains at a low level. This means that significant increases in retail sales are not to be expected, so cost and space efficiency remain one of the major challenges. However, this also means that less money will be available for investments in the technological development of retail concepts.
Where is the retail real estate market headed?
The days when retail real estate was almost a sure-fire success for investors with long-term leases are over. It is also no longer possible to re-let every retail space quickly and at any price. In almost every city, you can see vacant spaces, and even in shopping centers, there are one or two vacancies. The challenge here is to develop ideas for how these spaces can be reused.
For example, some shopping centers have already been converted into health centers, and there are plans to use larger spaces for city logistics. In inner-city areas in particular, more imagination and flexibility will be required in the future when it comes to the (re)use of retail real estate.
The situation is different for specialist stores and retail parks, which are currently preferred investment properties for good reason. Specialist stores – electronics stores, furniture stores, DIY stores, garden centers, etc. – are comparatively "location-bound," meaning that their leases have longer terms. Retail parks primarily serve local supply needs, with grocery stores and drugstores—i.e., items that everyone needs and that have not suffered any slump even during the pandemic—being supplemented by other, more affordable offerings. It is the retail sector that may not be quite as prestigious as high-street locations, but which generates comparatively stable rents in the long term.
In the impressions section you will find more impressions from EXPO REAL.