100 German High Streets Compared: Where Shopping Streets Outperform Shopping Centers

*100 German high streets in scoring comparison: why the classic shopping street is more resilient than the shopping centre – and which cities offer the greatest potential for investors.*

The current Highstreet Report 2025 analyses for the sixth time the tenant structure of 100 German shopping streets. Under the guiding idea “Ready for the next course?”, the study delivers a differentiated picture: while inner-city shopping centres continue to shrink, the classic shopping streets are stabilising – and show first signs of a comeback. For owners, investors and retailers, this is a signal that deserves attention.

100 high streets in focus: methodology and data basis

The Highstreet Report 2025 reduces the studied sample from 141 to 100 German cities – a deliberate focus on the most relevant retail locations. Selection criterion is a minimum population of 70,000, complemented by nine smaller cities with institutional real estate portfolios. The analysis covers the percentage distribution by product groups, absolute store counts and the multiples ratio of each studied high street.

The ranking is based on the RIWIS MacroScore – a data-based model for holistic assessment of real estate locations. 22 indicators from the areas of market, economy, sociodemographics and infrastructure flow into the score. For the Highstreet Report, two weighted retail scores for periodic and aperiodic needs are derived.

The high street 2025: between crisis and comeback

The number of stores in the 100 studied high streets fell from 2020 to 2025 by 7.2 per cent to 15,238 locations – a decline of 128 stores compared with the previous year (minus 0.8 per cent). The decisive finding: this decline concentrates almost exclusively on inner-city shopping centres, whose store count fell by 2.6 per cent to 6,317. The shopping streets themselves recorded a plus of 0.5 per cent to 8,921 stores. (Source: Highstreet Report 2025)

This is a paradigm shift: since 2020, inner-city shopping centres have lost around 15 per cent of their stores. The high streets themselves shrank by only 0.7 per cent – with a positive tendency most recently. The classic shopping street thus proves to be the more resilient format.

Product groups in change: fashion shrinks, food service grows

Fashion need remains, at 29.7 per cent share, the top segment in inner-city retail – though with a clearly declining tendency: from 36.4 per cent in 2020 to currently 30.3 per cent. In absolute figures this equals a decline of 21.6 per cent to 4,520 stores. Food service, by contrast, continues to grow: with 15.8 per cent share (2,413 stores) it is the second-largest product group and has gained 14.7 per cent since 2020. (Source: Highstreet Report 2025)

Further winners are retail-related services (plus 2.3 per cent year-on-year, 8.1 per cent share) and food and beverages (8.2 per cent share). The share of electronics and technology rose slightly to 5.7 per cent – a turnaround after years of decline. These figures confirm: the high street is diversifying away from the fashion monoculture towards a broader use mix.

> “In mid-scorer cities, the store count in shopping centres has fallen by 22.5 per cent since 2020, while in high streets it rose by 6.2 per cent. Retail activity is shifting back to the street.”

Highstreet scoring: the top cities in Germany

The city ranking of the Highstreet Report is based on the weighted RIWIS MacroScore and divides 100 cities into five scoring groups of 20 cities each. The top scorers 2025 are Koblenz (75.1 per cent), Mainz (73.4 per cent), Ulm (73.3 per cent), Heidelberg (72.3 per cent) and Braunschweig (69.1 per cent). In the high-scorer group, Dortmund (77.6 per cent), Dresden (75.3 per cent) and Cologne (74.6 per cent) lead. (Source: Highstreet Report 2025, RIWIS MacroScore / bulwiengesa)

Notable: it is not the classic top-7 metropolises that dominate the ranking. Medium-sized cities with strong regional supply function and good accessibility perform above average. This is relevant for investors: the most attractive high-street locations are not automatically the most expensive.

Multiples ratio: international chains consolidate

The multiples ratio of international multiples stands in 2025 at 37.8 per cent – a decline of 0.7 percentage points versus the previous year. International multiples have consolidated their locations and increasingly focus on target-group-appropriate brand experience. The share of national multiples fell slightly to 27.1 per cent. (Source: Highstreet Report 2025)

The change becomes particularly clear in mid-scorer cities: here store count in shopping centres has fallen by 22.5 per cent since 2020, while in high streets it rose by 6.2 per cent. The message: in smaller and medium-sized cities, retail activity is actively shifting out of centres back onto the street.

From monoculture to experience space: what the high street of the future needs

The report identifies a clear trend: the mono-functional high street – dominated by fashion chains and shoe stores – has had its day. Successful shopping streets of the future are multi-functional possibility spaces that integrate culture, craft, food service, co-working, living, pop-ups and social places. Cinnamood – a Cologne franchise company that has built more than 75,000 followers with an instagrammable store concept – stands exemplary for this new generation of high-street tenants.

The future of inner cities lies not in clinging to classic retail but in the ability to transform. Those open to new functions – culture, craft, food service, co-working, living – recognise the potentials and can use them.

Best-practice examples from the field

Beyond Cinnamood, further examples show the breadth of successful high-street transformations. In Aachen, Aachener Grundvermögen has realised a mixed-use property with retail and a bouldering lounge in a former shoe store on Cologne’s Schildergasse – a concept combining sport experience with retail and reaching beyond classic inner-city use. In Mönchengladbach, the economic development agency has demonstrated with interim use, pop-up formats and a coordinated frequency programme along Hindenburgstraße that even cities outside the top-7 can effectively mobilise against vacancy. And in Hanau, the city administration is betting on visible intermediate formats between retail, culture and food service, which have visibly improved dwell quality. These examples show: transformation succeeds not through single brands but through the interplay of owners, municipalities and operators.

What the report does not depict – and why it matters

Despite its informative power, the Highstreet Report has methodological limits. It measures tenant structure and multiples ratio but does not quantify turnover, pedestrian frequency or dwell quality in numbers. For the full assessment of a high street, additional data sources are needed: pedestrian frequency counts (COMFORT, Statista), turnover data from retail associations, and local dwell studies. Anyone as an investor or advisor assessing a high-street property holistically combines these data layers into a robust picture.

What this means for owners, investors and tenants

For owners:

The stabilisation of high streets is good news but no free ride. Success requires active asset management: flexible lease models, investment in ground-floor zones and openness to non-traditional tenants (food service, services, pop-ups). Pure retail monocultures are phase-out models.

For investors:

The yield spread between top and B locations offers opportunities. Medium-sized cities with high MacroScores and low multiples ratios can enable above-average value increases. At the same time, rising yields (prime yield commercial buildings: about 4.7 per cent) signal more attractive entry levels than in the past ten years.

For tenants:

The high street offers perspective again. Falling rents and flexible contract models such as turnover rents lower risk. At the same time, the demand for experience quality is rising: stores must offer more than merchandise – they must be community meeting points, content-creator stages and brand experience worlds.

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Frequently asked questions on the Highstreet Report 2025

What is the Highstreet Report 2025?

The Highstreet Report has been published for six years and analyses, in cooperation with bulwiengesa, the tenant structure, product-group distribution and multiples ratio of 100 German high streets and 114 inner-city shopping centres.

How many stores are there in German high streets in 2025?

The 100 studied high streets contain 15,238 stores in 2025 – a decline of 7.2 per cent since 2020. Of these, 8,921 fall on the shopping streets themselves (plus 0.5 per cent year-on-year) and 6,317 on inner-city shopping centres (minus 2.6 per cent).

Which product group grows most strongly?

Food service is the clear growth driver: plus 3.0 per cent year-on-year, plus 14.7 per cent since 2020. With 2,413 stores and 15.8 per cent share, it is the second-largest product group in German high streets after fashion need (29.7 per cent).

What is the RIWIS MacroScore?

The RIWIS MacroScore is a data-based model by bulwiengesa for holistic assessment of real estate locations. It uses 22 indicators from the areas of market, economy, sociodemographics and infrastructure and enables objective comparison of cities and locations.

Which cities are the top scorers 2025?

The top-5 in the Highstreet Scoring are Koblenz (75.1%), Mainz (73.4%), Ulm (73.3%), Heidelberg (72.3%) and Braunschweig (69.1%). In the high-scorer group, Dortmund (77.6%), Dresden (75.3%) and Cologne (74.6%) lead.

How is the multiples ratio developing?

The multiples ratio of international multiples stands at 37.8 per cent in 2025 (minus 0.7 percentage points). International chains consolidate their locations and increasingly focus on brand experience and target-group-specific concepts.

Why are high streets more resilient than shopping centres?

Inner-city shopping centres have lost around 15 per cent of their stores since 2020, high streets only 0.7 per cent. The reason: shopping streets offer more flexibility in floor sizes and use mix, better visibility and can more easily integrate non-traditional formats (food service, pop-ups).

What does this mean for investment in high-street properties?

The stabilisation of high streets alongside more attractive yields (about 4.7 per cent prime yield) makes this asset class interesting again. Particularly medium-sized cities with high MacroScores offer potential for investors who act selectively and location-aware.