U-R-W report explores how consumers in the UK and across Europe will be shopping by 2029
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has unveiled its biggest retail trends report to date, ‘Westfield How We Shop: The Next Decade’, which predicts 2025 will be the experience tipping point in retail when more than half of retail space in stores will be dedicated to providing experiences.
The new report examines the needs and wants of 15,700 consumers across ten countries in Europe including The UK, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy and the Netherlands and predicts five major trends to shape the industry over the next 10 years including:
- Upside-down retail: experience taking over half of all retail space
- Anti-prescription: a reduction in online personalisation, allowing consumers to browse full ranges; and more online retailers taking physical space
- Self-sustaining stores: shortening the supply chain and reducing single use plastics
- Retail surgery: the next level of personalisation
- Locally-morphed: a desire for retail destinations to reflect the people who live in the area
Christophe Cuvillier, Group Chief Executive Officer, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield said: “The ‘Westfield How We Shop: The Next Decade’ report is one of the largest European studies of consumers’ retail habits and is an industry first. Understanding customers’ needs today and tomorrow is part of our commitment to driving the industry forward and ensuring we provide the ultimate destinations for our visitors to enjoy and our retailers and brands to thrive in.”
The full 25-page report can be found here.
