A Future Without Shopping Boulevards

Anyone who continues to plan inner-city retail environments in the same way as before might as well close down straight away. The future does not hinge on a new couture curation, collectible sneakers, or contactless payment systems. Community policy and urban planning decide who will attract customers to the city centre, and what role shopping will play there in the future in general. We have compiled six thought-provoking ideas.

Text: Petrina Engelke. Illustration: grandfailure/stock.adobe.com

The good news is that retail is not doing badly at all, despite the coronavirus measures. According to HDE, the retail sector as a whole achieved a plus of 5 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year. Yet while the food sector is booming, e-commerce is growing by a good 20 percent, and furniture and DIY stores are also making money, the merchandise is piling up in fashion stores. The textile sector reported a decline of almost 25 percent.

1THE POST-CORONA BOOM PIPE DREAM Lack of demand for chic clothes is not a new phenomenon. Style icons have lamented the “leggingisation” of the world for years while Casual Fridays chipped away at office norms. How has the fashion industry hitherto reacted? With shifts in the product range or in the discount race, or both. This is no viable long-term solution to anything. Sure, how welcome would balls, weddings, and club nights be right now. A new dress for every citizen! But what next? A return to the valley of tears? The only way out is honesty. People are not reliant on fashion boutiques, as was evident during lockdown. The same applies to cities. Without acknowledging this reality, every store concept remains a pipe dream.

2THE MEANING OF LIFE, THE MEANING OF RETAIL The restricted radius of lockdown life has proven the advantages of a “15-minute city”. This radical new urban concept means that people can find everything they need within walking distance. There is no need to commute between home and work, or to drive to university, the cinema, and stores. On the one hand, this provides opportunity for the retail sector. This concept would mean that every larger city has not one city centre, but many. On the other hand, the heart of these multiple centres is not a department store, but the school. In the afternoon, people sunbathe in the leafy schoolyard. In the evening, they attend a concert in the auditorium. Such a city is useful, diverse, and vibrant. The only question is what does a fashion store actually offer its neighbourhood, apart from looting people’s wallets? Those who find an answer to this question have a foot in the door to the future of retailing.

ADDED VALUE BEYOND TAX RETURN

3Thanks to home office, the inner cities are devoid of office workers. Nobody knows whether this will last. Research by the British Centre For Cities suggests that walk-in shoppers will return in varying degrees after the coronavirus measures end. The irresistible appeal of commerce has long been questioned by dull shopping boulevards. That is why some cities are turning their attention to the community. The City of Hanau supports citizens in realising their business ideas, turning them into attractions in the city centre. Local start-ups are invited to present their products in a vacant department store area for three months at a time. Other cities promote multi-functional buildings: shopping, services, and a meeting place under one roof. A multi-purpose concept on the sales floor would also enable stores to spread their desolation risk more widely. The question is what social added value the fashion trade wants to offer.

4WHEN FASHION TURNS IN CIRCLES The pandemic-induced business hiatus may turn out to be an opportunity. After all, many shopkeepers’ brains have been in tinkering mode since the first lockdown and are now proficient at facing uncomfortable truths. One of these truths is that seasonal collections are disposable. Yet there are multiple ways to earn money with fashion, for example with rental clothes, alteration services, or second-hand options. That, in turn, would suit the city centre of the future perfectly. Many municipalities are not only address5 ing circular economy because of the climate crisis: a toy rental shop, a repair café, or a recycling boutique breathe life into city centres. This is the new competition. BETTER THAN ONLINE GIANTS The onset of the pandemic was a shock to Amazon: US chains such as Walmart, with their brick-andmortar stores, were closer to the customer. Inner-city stores are equally capable of outsmarting the online giants, as long as they start realising that the lone wolf strategy is no longer viable. What is lacking is a city-wide online shop where residents can arrange entire outfits from different stores before trying them on or picking them up. The book trade is pioneering such an approach with Genial Lokal, and Label Bird is experimenting with the idea for labels. For retailers, however, this would mean abandoning a cherished enemy. It is not e-commerce that spells the demise of fashion stores, but tunnel vision. 6 FAREWELL TO THE STORE It seems as if shopping sprees are less in demand than relaxation, recreation, civic participation, and practical, sustainable services. Some fashion stores will inevitably fail to adapt to this new environment. However, saying farewell does not necessarily entail going out of business. Floor space can be utilised by paying partners or reinvented as sensual experiences – brand building on every square metre, albeit for online business. Another conceivable option is to forego walk-in customers in expensive locations by relocating to a showroom that admits customers by appointment only. They are used to such concepts now. No matter how you look at it, the city centre of the future does not have room for dozens of fashion stores hellbent on clearance sales. Surely this is an excellent opportunity to finally come up with better solutions.