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A few months ago national and international media wrote about the decline of the shopping centers in the United States. We have remember that this commercial format was born after the Second World War in this country.

“The closure of shopping centers in the United States could be motivated by changing consumers preferences and habits”

Cierre de Centros Comerciales en Estados Unidos - Centro Plaza

The debate was on the street and the professionals of the sector in Spain immediately began to investigate the case, as the Spanish proverb says: When you see your neighbors beard cut, soak yours. For these reasons we have currently at our disposal descriptive and comparative reports about the closure of shopping centers in the United States. In this post, we highlight what is indicated in the report developed by CBRE: “The closure of Shopping Centers in the United States: Are there Reasons for Alarm in Spain?”.

The causes

  • In the United States there is a large oversupply. While in Europe the commercial density is 1 m2/inhabitant on average, in the United States this average is 5 times higher.  
  • In the United Estate, more than a third of its shopping centers were built before 1978.
  • The rise of electronic commerce. Online sales in the United States represent 15% of total retail sales.

United States Vs Spain

We are talking about two different situations, which must be assessed accordingly. The Spanish offer is in a mature phase but the average density of shopping centers per inhabitant is 0.34 m2 compared with 2.35 m2/inhabitant of the United States.

According to the report of CBER, the cause that can affect in Spain is the rise of electronic commerce but currently, online sales in Spain only represent 4% of retail sales.

The future of Shopping Centers in Spain

Advances and analysis of data obtained through Big Data, will provide relevant information to improve the communication and strategies to be developed but success seems to be linked to offering differentiating experiences and becoming a social gathering point.

In conclusion and without question, we able to ensure that advances in technologies will mark the evolution of the shopping centers sector in Spain.