The textile retail trade has been complaining for years about declining footfall and numerous grievances in German city centers. As part of a current survey, the Textile Shoes Leather Goods Trade Association (BTE) has now determined what customers particularly dislike when shopping for clothing in local city centers. On Wednesday, the industry organization published the results of the survey, which had already been discussed at the BTE Congress last week.
The consumers surveyed most often criticized the many empty shops (54 percent), closely followed by the “poor condition of buildings and places (‘eyesore’)” (52 percent). Almost half of the survey participants also complained about the “increasingly poor accessibility by car” (47 percent).
The offer in the city centers was also high on the list of points of criticism. 45 percent of those surveyed complained about “too many one-euro shops and junk shops”, 37 percent disliked the “monotonous range of fashion retailers” and 33 percent disliked the “not enough high-quality” restaurants.
The general condition of the city centers also met with widespread criticism. Consumers complained about “too much garbage and dirt” (44 percent) and “too little green” (42 percent). The unreliable local public transport was also frequently complained about (39 percent).
At the same time, the BTE asked for suggestions for improvement. The desire for “more events”, such as fashion shows, theme evenings, readings and music (40 percent), was most popular. Many of the consumers surveyed were also in favor of “nicer stores” (39 percent) and “more individual style advice” (36 percent).
According to the BTE, the results are based on a survey of around 3,600 fashion and shoe buyers in 14 selected large, medium-sized and small cities, carried out on six weekdays in August and September, as well as a nationwide online survey of 570 other people.