Vacancies on the rise

Dreariness in many Viennese shopping streets

Mariahilfer Strasse has lost a massive amount of retail space in the last two years.

(Bild: Urbantschitsch Mario/Mario Urbantschitsch)

Empty, deserted shop windows instead of full stores. The shopping streets are changing. The "Krone" sheds light on the background.

The shopping streets are the economic backbone of the stationary retail trade. However, like almost everything else, they are undergoing change. According to the Austrian Retail Association, retail space has been declining since 2018. Proof of our changing consumer habits. First the pandemic, then high inflation and the resulting real estate crisis have fueled the structural change, which has also had an unmistakable impact on the cityscape. This also includes Landstraßer Hauptstraße. It is the "main artery" of the third district and one of the most important shopping streets in Vienna.

A number of retail spaces are vacant in prominent locations on Landstraßer Hauptstraße.

(Bild: Christoph Engelmaier)

Local inspection: Empty stores, no people
The "Krone" site inspection shows that many stores are empty. With a total sales area of 84,000 square meters, there is currently a vacancy rate of 5.8 percent. One reason for this could be the high rents. These are too high for many companies in sought-after locations such as the city center, especially for small and medium-sized businesses.

Cost increases, the avalanche of bureaucracy and changing consumer behavior are fuelling structural change in the retail sector.

Rainer Will, Handelsverband-Geschäftsführer

Bild: krone.tv

No wonder: on the famous Mahü, you can easily fork out 30,000 euros or more for a store - per month, of course. The country's largest shopping street has therefore lost six percent of its retail space over the past two years. As a rule of thumb, smaller shopping streets are more likely to struggle with vacancies, but exceptions prove the rule.

6 percent

Mariahilfer Strasse alone, the largest shopping street in the country, has lost six percent of its retail space over the past two years. And the popular Mahü is not alone in this.

These shopping streets are busy shopping streets
Meidlinger Hauptstraße has had the lowest vacancy rate for years. Favoritenstraße is also doing very well. The Vienna Chamber of Commerce sees things differently. "There are few vacancies in Vienna's shopping streets. Of course, there are neighborhoods that function better and secondary locations that are a little more confronted with this," says Margarete Gumprecht, Head of Retail.

According to the trade association, many business premises in our area in particular are in a conversion phase following a vacancy, which often leads away from retail and towards other uses, such as doctors' surgeries, hairdressing salons or kebab restaurants. The vacancy rate is not necessarily increasing, but more and more space is moving away from retail.