German Shopping Streets See Increased Foot Traffic in 2024

Despite a 1.5% rise in visitors, retailers report stagnant sales and disappointing holiday performance.

Foot traffic in German pedestrian zones increased by 1.5% nationwide in 2024 compared to the previous year, with a 4% rise recorded during the Advent season.
Munich's Kaufinger Straße and Neuhauser Straße were the busiest shopping streets, with 30.5 million and 29 million visitors respectively.
The largest year-over-year increases in traffic were observed on Kaufinger Straße (+5.8%), Heidelberg’s Hauptstraße (+5.7%), and Hamburg's Jungfernstieg (+5.5%).
The summer's higher visitor numbers were partially attributed to the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship hosted in Germany, especially in cities that were match venues.
Retailers expressed dissatisfaction with sales performance, as inflation-adjusted revenues for 2024 were projected to remain flat, and the holiday shopping season fell short of expectations.