In most cases, German inner cities do not arouse excessive enthusiasm among consumers. In a survey of almost 69,000 people in 111 inner cities in September and November last year, the city centers only received school grades between two minus and three plus on average, as the Institute for Retail Research (IFH) reported on Wednesday. The attractiveness of the inner cities stagnated at the 2020 level.
According to the survey, the biggest magnet in inner cities is still retail. At least 60 percent of those surveyed stated that they had come to the city center to shop. However, other reasons for visits are increasingly coming to the fore. More than one in three (35 percent) came because of gastronomy. For comparison: Two years ago – at the height of the corona pandemic – just one in four city visitors planned to visit a restaurant or café.
Striking: the city center has continued to lose importance as a shopping location, especially among young people up to the age of 25. They assess the inner-city retail offer noticeably more critically than older people. According to the survey, consumers who also shop online returned to the city centers after the end of the corona-related lockdowns, but shop less frequently.
The visitors to the city center have clear ideas about what could make the city centers more attractive: According to them, the city centers should above all be a meeting place and invite people to linger (45 percent). But shopping (43 percent), art and culture (36 percent) and gastronomy (35 percent) could also make the cities more attractive in their eyes. (dpa)