Freeze on retail space development in peripheral zones? A rearguard battle

Multiple factors contribute to retail desertification in cities, not just competition from peripheral shopping centres. Should we nonetheless impose tighter regulations on retail expansion in these zones, as some are again demanding? If so, how?

Restrictions on peripheral developments may be well-intended but they haven’t in fact evolved since the early days of shopping centres. Meanwhile, the problem has become increasingly complex, leading to some very thorny questions.

1 – What is the definition of saturation?

The idea behind these restrictions is that a saturation “threshold” should not be exceeded. There is no denying that certain urban areas have a surfeit of shopping centres. But so many parameters come into play – characteristics of the territory, its flows, retailers present in the area, e-commerce… – that the notion of an acceptable limit is purely theoretical and by no means universal.

2 – Can we expect environmental criteria to regulate retail development? 

Even if we wanted to, it would be impossible to regulate new development sites based on the notion of saturation because the European Union prohibits it, in the name of free competition. Which also explains why our regulations have become absurd, subjecting project authorisations to environmental criteria, rather than commercial ones, which has by the way virtually no effect on limiting them.

3 – Status quo or sclerosis?

Halting retail space development would amount to immobilising the competitive environment, eliminating any hope for struggling sites to reinvent themselves and, even worse, no doubt, preventing the emergence of concepts better suited to the new expectations of society. Don’t forget that most attempts to have authorisations annulled are led by the threatened competitors. This runs counter to the interests of consumers and the territories alike.

4 – What exactly is the retail surface area?

Because e-commerce accounts for a growing share of consumer purchases, brands have assigned new functions to their stores, becoming less transactional, more service and experience-oriented. Shopping centres are welcoming leisure and other activities beyond the purely commercial.

Their future no longer depends on maximal square metres, but on their ability to offer customers a truly desirable experience. How much longer will the sales surface area remain the unit of measure for retail infrastructure?

The carrot, rather than the stick

Let’s be clear: there is nothing absurd about controlling retail projects in a given territory. In fact, it makes perfect sense if the project is aligned with a clearly conceived retail master plan, explained and supported by the local authorities who can thus take a proactive stance, rather than remaining continually on the defensive. This is the best way to accelerate and steer private investment to places deemed the most useful for residents, whether in the city-centre or elsewhere, with no pre-set ideas.

Regulatory restrictions never prevented the expansion of retail sites in urban peripheral areas in the past. Why would they be needed now that the changing context has made them less relevant ? The solution lies not in restrictions but in an adapted response of local areas to the revolution underway in the world of retail.