Spring bridges do not help sales in shopping centres

A sluggish start to the year for shopping centres, which in the first four months of 2025 are seeing a drop in sales (-2.3%), while admissions on the whole are holding up well, as they are +1.2% between May 2024 and April 2025. The sales figures for April 2025 show a decrease of -3.8% compared to the corresponding period in 2024, which leads to a slightly negative cumulative result in the first four months of 2025. This trend should be considered in light of several factors, including the general climate of uncertainty and some calendar peculiarities in the first months of the year, in which the postponed Easter holidays, compared to the previous year, and several public holidays had an unfavourable impact on certain types of purchases in particular. The data provided by the CNCC Observatory, are based on a representative, constant and homogeneous panel, in which 300 structures participate, equal to about 10,000 points of sale throughout the country.

"Our data show a generalised slowdown in sales in shopping centres and retail, mainly due to the slight contraction in affluence of -0.8% in the first four months of the year and greater caution on the part of consumers in their spending decisions," emphasises Marco Daviddi, Managing Partner of EY Parthenon, Italy. "This scenario reflects a still unstable macroeconomic and geopolitical context, which fuels a climate of uncertainty that also affects consumer habits. For operators in the sector, it is necessary to maintain a high capacity for adaptation and transformation, both in terms of offer and strategy, in order to be able to intercept new needs and anticipate future changes in purchasing behaviour'.

In April 2025, the best performances came from the personal care and health segments, which recorded +2.7% growth, and the services business, which increased slightly (+0.1%) and recorded positive trends. Compared to April 2024, however, the fourth month of the year showed a decrease of -3.8%, mainly due to the negative performance of some segments that are more affected by calendars. In fact, significant declines were seen in consumer electronics (-7.5%), clothing (-4.9%) and household goods (-4.7%), followed by culture, leisure and gifts (-3.2%) and restaurants (-1.8%). With reference to the first four months of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, the positive signals also observed in April are confirmed in the personal care and health sectors, which grew by +2.8%, and service activities, which recorded a solid expansion of +3.9%. The sectors that, on the other hand, recorded negative performances were household goods and clothing, both down by -3.6%. Declining trends, albeit smaller, were also seen in culture, leisure and gifts (-3.2%), consumer electronics (-2.7%) and catering (-1.4%).

"The trends recorded by the CNCC Observatory are in line with the trend and indicators of the trade sector, which, as is well known, is affected by the economic situation and consumer confidence," emphasises Roberto Zoia, President of the CNCC. The current macro-economic context, which continues to be complex, is therefore also reflected in the performance of the shopping centre industry, which, however, recorded a moderate decline, a sign that the proposed model is valid and appreciated. In fact, turnover had to suffer an unfavourable impact of the calendar, on which in particular the impact of certain segments, i.e., those characterised by deferrable consumption, weighed heavily. Particularly noteworthy is also the trend in positive territory recorded by admissions on an annual basis, which testifies to the fact that shopping centres are solid in the purchasing options of consumers".