At the end of the first quarter of this year, a turnaround is becoming apparent in the German retail sector, with more rental agreements being concluded in the restaurant industry than in the textile trade for the first time.
The fact that more and more restaurants are springing up in cities, especially in retail areas, reflects consumer behavior quite well. It has become far too convenient to do one's shopping online, so that trips to the shops are now the exception rather than the rule. The aim is to lure customers back to shopping streets and centers by offering them a special shopping experience. This includes the provision of gastronomic concepts.
The restaurant industry is on the rise, and the retail sector is following suit. In times of online boom, the number of potential customers is slowly declining. At the same time, however, they are willing to spend more and more time and money on eating out – an opportunity for restaurateurs, which is being exploited in the form of numerous new openings of various café bars, bistros, and ready-to-eat offerings.
This phenomenon has been known for a long time. Large retail chains have been attracting customers with food offerings for years in order to enhance the shopping experience and extend the length of time customers spend in their stores. This trend is now continuing in the retail sector. In some shopping centers, around a fifth of the sales area is dedicated to food and beverage outlets. Here, the focus is on a wide range of high-quality food options.
When choosing high-quality food and beverages, customers also have certain expectations of the product range. This plays into the hands of retailers who want to offer customers a holistic shopping experience in order to remain competitive with online retailers.
Source: https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article172101530/Gastronomie-Einzelhaendler-werden-zu-Wirten.html
