City centre study 2026/27: 83 per cent want to visit at least as often — shopping remains the main reason
On 23 September 2026 the Deutschlandstudie Innenstadt 2026/27 by CIMA, HDE and bcsd reported its best result in six years: 83.3 per cent of more than 5,000 respondents want to visit their city centre as often or more often in future. Almost two thirds come to shop, 46 per cent to browse, 45 per cent for food and drink.
What happened
On 23 September 2026 the Handelsverband Deutschland (HDE, German Retail Federation) presented the Deutschlandstudie Innenstadt 2026/27 (Germany city centre study). It was carried out by CIMA Beratung + Management GmbH together with the HDE and the Bundesvereinigung City- und Stadtmarketing Deutschland (bcsd, federal association of city marketing); more than 5,000 citizens were surveyed in May and June 2026. 83.3 per cent want to visit their city centre at least as often as before in future — according to the publishers the best result in six years. Shopping is the main reason for almost two thirds, 46 per cent name browsing and 45 per cent food and drink.
Who is affected
City-centre retailers, restaurants and cafés, and service providers in shopping locations — and cities that decide on the quality of public space, accessibility and rents.
Analysis
After years of obituaries this is good news with a clear message: people come because of shopping, not in spite of retail. At the same time browsing and eating are almost level. The city centre is therefore an outing with several stops, and every business is a link in the same chain. Anyone who causes friction at one point spoils the impression of the whole visit.
From a payment network operator's (Netzbetreiber) perspective, the till is exactly such a point. The customers who return bring the expectations they have learned in everyday life: contactless payment, no minimum spend, no discussion. A YouGov survey in September showed that this expectation is rising everywhere, including at snack bars and ice-cream parlours. The city centre study measures the will to come — whether that turns into revenue is decided by the individual business. That politics must work on the framework conditions, as the HDE demands, is true; but merchants can put their own counter in order today.
What to do now
- Walk the customer's route through your own shop once yourself: where do they wait, where do they have to ask, where do they pay?
- Check any signs with a minimum spend for card payments and calculate what they actually save.
- Talk to neighbouring businesses and city marketing about joint campaigns — the visit is a tour, not a single purchase.