Frankfurt beats Munich - after all, that caused loud cheers in the Main metropolis a few weeks ago. However, according to the real estate company JLL, a leading service, consulting and investment management company in the real estate sector, the victory is not only limited to football. Frankfurt also comes out on top when it comes to shopping. JLL's annual pedestrian frequency count revealed that Frankfurt's Zeil is Germany's most frequented shopping street for the third time - after 2012 and 2017. With 14,390 visitors counted per hour between the central squares Hauptwache and Konstablerwache, Frankfurt's consumer mile came out on top of the table by a narrow margin.
There was, however, a slight decline compared to last year, when 14,875 passers-by were counted, 555 more than in Munich's Kaufingerstrasse. This year, too, the Munich shopping street was awarded the silver medal with 14,155 passers-by. Another Munich location, Neuhauser Strasse, follows at a clear distance with a total of 13,455 passers-by per hour. Dirk Wichner, Head of Retail Leasing JLL Germany, explains the situation of the shopping streets: "The overall figures are within the range of annual fluctuations in absolute terms, which proves that the long predicted extinction of the city centres is not happening, at least in the large and medium-sized cities. This is partly due to the fact that many retailers have recognised the signs of the times. Omni-channel strategies offer them the option of offering more exclusive and shopping experience-oriented products in a smaller space. As the JLL retail availability rate shows, this creates new scope for smaller and innovative concepts that have long suffered from the dominance of chain stores. This new diversity is making the shopping streets more colourful and attractive again, which people are happy to accept. But even if the streets are populated, that still says nothing about when and on what people spend their money. This is where retail and restaurants now compete."
Frankfurt also in the top 5 for luxury miles
In terms of German luxury miles, Stuttgart's Stiftstrasse has made significant gains, as predicted by JLL last year, overtaking Düsseldorf's Königsallee for the first time. It is followed by Munich's Maximilianstrasse (2,690), Frankfurt's Goethestrasse (1,815) in 4th place and Der Neue Wall in Hamburg with 1,685 passers-by.
As in previous years, the number of passers-by was counted by hand at neuralgic points on the shopping streets. Helge Scheunemann, Head of Research JLL Germany, says: "The pedestrian frequency count we carry out is and remains a snapshot. The aim of the survey is a nationwide comparison of peak frequencies. In addition, their development over the years is to be mapped and an emerging trend is to be recorded. In comparison with the average value of the 5- or 10-year time series, interesting conclusions can be drawn about the medium- and long-term development of the locations. Measurements of other market participants - some with different technology and significantly fewer measurement points - also show year-on-year fluctuations, which underlines how important the long-term view and the comparison with medium- and long-term averages are."
