Spain: Land of Mega Shopping Centers

No other European country has more mega shopping centers than Spain. Of the total 640 shopping centers in Spain, 74 have a leasable area of 50,000 m² or more. The total leasable area of Spanish mega centers amounts to approximately 4.1 million m². Germany, on the other hand, currently has “only” 48 such mega centers but boasts a larger number of mid-sized shopping centers between 30,000 and 50,000 m².

Other top spots for these very large shopping centers are held by Turkey, France, and Poland. The impressive sales areas in Spain, Turkey, and France are often due to the large hypermarkets, which alone can span up to 15,000 m². Although urban agglomerations are comparatively small, Scandinavian countries exhibit a remarkably high density of shopping centers. This is likely due to the topographical structure and the long travel distances associated with it.

While there are over 1,100 shopping centers across Europe with a size between 30,000 and 50,000 m², there are currently about 600 centers larger than 50,000 m², of which approximately 90 mega centers have a sales area exceeding 100,000 m². The largest shopping centers in Europe, however, are not in the aforementioned top-ranking countries, but in the United Kingdom: Westfield London, Trafford Centre, and Westfield Stratford London, each with well over 150,000 m² of leasable space.

In general, the boom phase of mega shopping centers seems to be over. Since 2020, only 26 centers with a leasable area of 50,000 m² or more have opened, compared to 241 between 2010 and 2020. A decade earlier, there were even 267 shopping centers. Currently, around 20 such mega centers are planned in Europe, including in Spain and Belgium, although only about half of them are likely to be realized. The largest project currently in the pipeline is still the Westfield Milano Shopping Center, with a planned sales area of 155,000 m².