Rethinking Shopping as Good Life Places

Why do we still need shopping places?  

If you walk through many German cities today, one question almost comes to mind: Why do we still need so many shopping places? In the face of vacancies, oversupply and uniformity, we seem to have largely lost faith in bricks-and-mortar retail - and quite rightly so. The quick response of many urban planners is: without retail, our city centres will become deserted. But this reflex explains little and helps even less. After all, it has long been possible to imagine fascinating urban spaces in which places of consumption no longer play a major role. But that would be an exciting story in its own right - with the crucial question: what kind of city do we actually want to live in?

The following applies to shopping in particular: if no specific need is met, there will be no demand. So simple, so radical.

‍

The new fields of activity for several years

The challenges surrounding retail and urban development have shifted significantly in recent years. Four strategic tasks show where the key levers lie today:

• Transformation of retail centres and department stores: These key properties were once magnets for the city - today they need new concepts, not just to reposition the property, but in the context of their contribution to the neighbourhood.

• Re-activating city and neighbourhood centres: Outdated structures and shifting demand require new strategies to improve the quality of urban space.

• Development of new destination places: The attractiveness of a city is increasingly determined by places that can be experienced - in the competition between cities as well as for their residents.

• Improving the quality of other commercial forms such as offices: Urbanity remains a desirable factor - also for work, supply and everyday functions. Mixed use is no longer an option, but a prerequisite.

‍

Shopping places are places for the good life

Perhaps it helps to start again from the beginning. What was the original purpose of retail in the city? What is its basic function, its cultural significance for our urban society? If we want to think about the future of shopping places, we need to uncover their first principle - the foundation on which we can develop new real estate products or transform existing formats.

So what is the essence of a shopping place? They are places for the good life - or more precisely: for improving the lives of the people who live in or visit a city.

These places have always offered more than just goods. They promised orientation, inspiration and advice. They were platforms for ideas on how we can lead a better life. For a long time, this implicit promise was the legitimisation of bricks-and-mortar retail - its contribution to society.

But in many cities, shopping places have forgotten exactly that. They no longer provide convincing answers to the questions and desires of their target groups. They seem lifeless, with no connection to what moves people today.

Yet the basic question is still valid: How can a place, a product or an experience help me to organise my life better?

A spiral of needs determines retail locations  

Places of commerce have always reflected social developments - and above all the question of which needs are currently at the centre of attention. In the beginning, it was about security and supply. Then came the increase in prosperity: department stores became cathedrals of consumption, new things became affordable and tempted people to buy.

The turn of the millennium marked the beginning of the age of the feel-good factor. Shopping became an experience. Everything had to be staged, emotionalised and charged - in response to an increasingly saturated society. But that was soon no longer enough. The question of meaning came onto the scene. "Purpose" became another need - for brands, for products, for places.

And now? In the midst of global crises - pandemic, war, climate catastrophe - the question of security is also returning. Supply bottlenecks, hoarding, uncertainty. The need for stability is being felt again. What we are seeing is not a linear development, but a spiral. Needs are overlapping, piling up, multiplying - from basic care to human enhancement. This complexity is also challenging the places where we shop.

Many retail locations have come to a standstill on this path - overtaken by the speed of change or slowed down by speculative thinking in the property sector. Only those who can provide relevant answers to the "good life" in their respective surroundings today have a future. All others will be left behind.

‍

BIKINI BERLIN was and is such an experiment for the future: a curated place with a hotel, cinema, co-working, gastronomy and culture - not just a shopping centre. A place with attitude. Today, the project faces the challenge of proving itself anew: as a place for a new, more differentiated idea of the good life. It must retain its identity, but at the same time open up to broader target groups. Without becoming banal.

‍

Visit Creator and Community Curator

How does a place become relevant today? It has to be more than just beautiful and functional. It must issue a clear invitation: Come by. Stay. Come again. And give the place meaning through your presence. The most successful places achieve this because they offer reasons to visit - and a sense of belonging. People don't just want to consume, they want to be part of a community. They are looking for places that show attitude - but also remain connectable.

KALLE NEUKÖLLN is a good example of this new type of urban location. The traditional retail structure has been broken up - and almost completely replaced by other uses.

• The old multi-storey car park has been transformed into an XXL creative garage.

• The roof garden with pool becomes a place to be.

• The food hall becomes a stage for everyone - with character and depth.

Kalle is not only special, but also functional: the supermarket in the basement lowers entry thresholds and creates everyday relevance. Co-working, event spaces, new meeting formats - they bring life into the building. And most importantly, the neighbourhood is invited to make this place their own. "Kalle is there for everyone!" - that's not just an empty phrase, it's the programme.

‍

The future is hybrid

Our everyday lives have changed fundamentally. Digitalisation and technology have turned the smartphone into a remote control for our lives - shopping, navigation, communication, health management: all in parallel, all at once. Thinking in terms of pure usage categories - retail here, work there, leisure there - no longer fits this reality. The user thinks hybrid. And the locations must follow suit. Today, a retail location must clearly know what it can offer: Quick basic supply? Intensive experience? Cultural connectivity? Perhaps even everything - in one.

The ground floor zones of our residential neighbourhoods are particularly challenging. Many of them suffer from a loss of attractiveness - and from an overload of demands. With the GF-Edition, we have developed a strategic tool that addresses precisely this issue. It functions as a serious game: a playful but well-founded curating tool for ground floors.

‍

Based on the owners' strategic goals, real needs and synergetic types of use, a curated mix of uses is created - specific, strategic and location-based. The big challenge: to turn ground floors back into places that are relevant for the good life - right on your own doorstep.

‍

New product typologies needed

The monoculture of shopping is coming to an end. It is becoming increasingly common to see how former consumer magnets are falling into a creeping downward spiral. Footfall is collapsing, rents are falling, utilisation is becoming decoupled from relevance - the result is a gradual downgrading of locations. Investors, product architects and cities are faced with the task of helping these places - which have often long been part of the neighbourhood - to achieve a genuine revival. The key lies not in falling back on old recipes, but in a radical reorientation: local people must once again have a reason to connect with the place. The retail location must once again become an important space for life in the neighbourhood - and thus also contribute to the qualitative upgrading of the urban space.

On the one hand, this means more mixed use, more programmatic density.
And on the other hand: a new attractiveness in design - both visually and in terms of content. Identification can only be created if the often faceless surfaces can be charged with character and new reasons to visit are created. Places must once again play a role in the everyday life of their community - or develop this role in the first place. The good news is that many of these places have spatial resources, infrastructure and connections - in other words, the perfect basis for a new type of utilisation mix. But what is often missing is a clear idea, a strong programmatic framework.

Our experience with existing malls and new, mixed-use locations shows this: Only a combination of uses that is consistently orientated towards target group needs and linked by a common guiding principle can work sustainably. The mere addition of different areas without any recognisable synergy is not a solution. What is needed is a meaningful context - both emotionally and functionally.

This is how new product types are created: The Community Mall as a neighbourly living room. The Urban Destination as a future market. The Genusswerk as a place for production, participation and experience.

‍

Good Life Places

The way back leads forwards: retail locations must reflect on their origins in order to celebrate future successes. They were never just sales areas - they were always places for the good life. To achieve this, new solutions are needed, many prototypes of which already exist. But more than that: a new, common narrative is needed - a guiding principle that provides orientation and connects different players. Good Life Places can embody this narrative: as places that are economically viable, socially relevant and emotionally effective. Anyone who takes this principle seriously will recognise that bold new solutions are needed. And many of these solutions have been around for a long time - as pilots, prototypes, pioneering projects.

Now is the time to develop them further - and set new standards.

‍

‍