Covid crippled live shopping, ok. But everywhere the same? Apparently not, according to what was reported by the experts of the real estate company Cushman & Wakefield, who by analyzing the data of MyTraffic (the app that monitors pedestrian traffic in real time) in European capitals, found that things went particularly badly in Rome , compared to other major shopping cities. The study examines the most iconic shopping streets, therefore in the case of the Italian capital the very long and usually very busy via del Corso: well, the average monthly flow there fell by 66% between March 2020 and March 2021, with peaks of almost -100% in April 2020, in full lockdown, and -80% in May 2020 and in March of this year. In short, compared to before the pandemic, on average two fewer people out of every three passed through via del Corso. Worse than the iconic Roman road was only Oxford Street in London, with an average monthly decline of 71%.
The other capitals analyzed are Rue Neuve in Brussels, which did just better than Rome with -65%, then the Gran Via in Madrid -63%, the Champs Elysees in Paris with -44% and the Ku'damm in Berlin, which recorded only -35% of pedestrian traffic during the pandemic. The situation is gradually improving thanks to the reopenings, now effective in all countries, some more, some less, some sooner or later. And also for the commercial real estate market, which is what Cushman & Wakefield deals with, the prospects seem to be for a recovery, even if not very fast: in Madrid, Rome, Brussels and Berlin, rents from retail stores could return to normality by 2023, while Paris and London, more linked to international tourism, will have to wait a little longer.
As for the shops on Via del Corso, however, according to the study, the decline in pedestrian traffic has particularly affected the clothing sector: there have been 35 closures in the last 12 months. “Consequently – explains the study -, the market offers a consistent offer, mechanically leading to lower rents for new commercial leases. Even the current owners of Via del Corso have been pragmatic. For reduce the risk of unpaid rent, taking into account the difficulties of their tenants, most of them have decided to lower their existing rents by 8 to 15% on average”.
