Although 2G and 3G retail restrictions have now been lifted in many regions, many city center shops are still lagging behind 2019 sales levels, according to the German Retail Association (HDE).
A current Germany-wide HDE survey of 820 trading companies of all locations, sizes and types of business showed that retailers in inner-city locations are struggling the most. For example, in calendar week eight, sales in stationary non-food retail were on average a fifth below the pre-crisis values of 2019.
On average, customer footfall in the city centers is only 70 percent of the pre-crisis level. As a result, the main business locations in particular, whose business model is geared towards high customer numbers, are only very slowly coming out of crisis mode. The development is particularly weak in the clothing and shoe trade as well as in medium-sized companies. The rest of the non-food trade is doing much better, albeit also below the level of 2019 – beyond clothing and shoes. Here the drop in sales in week eight compared to 2019 was ten percent.
Demand for targeted measures to preserve inner cities
In view of this development, the HDE calls for further efforts for attractive city centers. “Many trading companies are still a long way from their normal sales. The corona crisis and its effects are still leaving a deep drag through inner cities across the country,” says HDE Managing Director Stefan Genth. The HDE is therefore committed to a special program for inner city development with at least 500 million euros annually for a period of five years. In this way, innovative concepts and urban planning measures to increase the attractiveness and modernization of existing and new shops, as well as gastronomy, cultural, educational, leisure and social facilities are to be promoted.
In addition, the HDE calls for the introduction of special depreciation for investments in inner cities and the establishment of an association as the “Federal Foundation Alliance for Inner Cities” under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building.