The sector of commercial real estate companies is going through a pivotal moment: the equation "rents + footfall + anchor tenants" is being disrupted both by the crisis in certain segments (particularly ready-to-wear fashion) and by a rapid transformation of consumer habits, especially in food and services.
A conviction is growing stronger: two activities continue to compel people to leave their homes : dining out and leisure activities.
These are experiences difficult (if not impossible) to experience in the same way at home. This is precisely where a portion of the value creation for commercial assets lies.
A complex context for commercial real estate companies: when the fundamentals shift
Fashion Retail Crisis: A Weakening of Key Traffic Drivers
Fashion retail has long been a powerful traffic driver for shopping centers, retail parks, and secondary high streets.
However, for several years now, the sector has been under intense pressure: a decline in discretionary spending, e-commerce competition, the rise of international platforms, increasing costs (logistics, energy, overheads), and a proliferation of restructurings and closures.
For real estate companies, this isn't just a retail issue: it's a real estate issue. The weakening of fashion retail inevitably leads to brand re-evaluations, renegotiations, pressure on rents, and an increased risk of vacancies.
Commercial Vacancy: An Indicator That Is Transforming (and Shifting)
Vacancy is no longer simply a rate: it becomes a signal of the alignment between a site's offering and consumer expectations. In some areas, revitalization policies have been able to contain or reduce vacancy, while other zones remain under pressure.
For real estate companies, the challenge is to anticipate these shifts in demand, to redefine focal points, and to recreate experiences that entice people to visit the site again.
Food Retail Spaces: Fewer Square Meters, More Services
Historically, the grocery sector has played a stabilizing role: regular footfall, essential basket purchases, and a ripple effect on other businesses.
But the model is evolving. The rise in popularity of drive-throughs, the development of omnichannel journeys (online ordering, click-and-collect, delivery), and the growth of home services are changing the role of the hypermarket in daily life.
We are seeing a reallocation of space: more compact formats, more preparation areas, increased logistical back-office space, and sometimes fewer retail aisles.
For a real estate company, the question is no longer just the size of the grocery store, but what it generates in terms of footfall, time spent, and connections to other uses.
Food and beverage and leisure are becoming the strategic duo for commercial real estate companies
Two experiences that necessitate a physical visit
One can shop online, get deliveries, watch a series, play games, cook. Yet, social experience and the experience of a physical place remain decisive.
Dining and leisure, broadly speaking (cinema, sports and climbing gyms, bowling, indoor parks, immersive experiences, workshops, events, etc.), have one thing in common: they create an explicit reason to leave home.
These aren't just purchases, they are experiences. And this experiential nature is more resilient to at-home substitution.
The key triptych: attracting visitors, making them stay, encouraging spending
The power of the F&B (Food & Beverage) and leisure combination is evident on three levels very tangible for commercial real estate.
1. Attracting visitors:
A coherent offering of dining and leisure acts like a magnet. People come for an experience, a concept, an event, a place.
Essential when certain retail categories, such as ready-to-wear fashion, are no longer enough to drive foot traffic.
2. Encourage visitors to stay:
Dwell time is an invisible asset: the more it increases, the more the site acts as a destination.
Leisure creates longer stays, dining creates peak moments (lunch, snack, dinner, post-activity), and together, these enhance visitor flow and encourage longer stays.
3. Encourage spending:
Staying longer increases the likelihood of additional purchases: on-site consumption, impulse purchases, complementary purchases, and synergies with other brands.
The shopping basket is no longer solely retail; it becomes multi-purpose.
A desired side effect: the desirability of the asset
A property company doesn't just manage retail units; it manages appeal. This appeal matters to retailers, investors, local authorities, and, above all, to users.
Redeveloping a site around uses that drive footfall (dining, entertainment, services) helps to recreate a competitive advantage against e-commerce and at-home consumption habits.
Rethinking the programming of commercial property companies: from a list of retailers to an architecture of experiences
Shifting from a leasing mindset to a product-focused approach
For a long time, commercial asset management consisted of optimizing a mix of retailers (categories, rents, anchor tenants).
Today, we need to ask the following questions: What kind of user experience are we offering? What are the key moments of the week (lunch, end of day, weekend)? Which target groups are prioritized (families, working professionals, students, tourists, seniors)? How do dining, entertainment, and services complement each other?
An effective F&B and leisure program isn't just about adding concepts; it crafts a coherent experience, with rhythms, intensities, anchor points, and a capacity for renewal.
The differentiating factors in F&B and leisure
While there's no universal recipe, several constants emerge in successful projects.
An offering truly tailored to the local catchment area, clear differentiation, close attention to flow and accessibility (visibility, entrances, terraces, pathways), sound management of technical constraints (extraction, standards, deliveries, acoustics), and a robust economic model (CAPEX, lease terms, variables, lease duration).
Finally, the programming benefits from integrating a dynamic and seasonal aspect to maintain interest and encourage repeat visits.
Tomorrow Food's solution for real estate players: attractive F&B & Leisure programming
F&B expertise tailored for real estate projects
Tomorrow Food positions itself as a partner supporting real estate asset managers in structuring coherent F&B and leisure programs that align with real estate constraints.
It connects the customer experience with operational realities: layout, traffic flow, technical constraints, concept selection, and synergy creation with the rest of the site.
Tangible Changes for Property Companies
The goal is no longer just to fill a space, but to make it desirable, support can cover programming strategy, property implementation, and choice validation.
We transform F&B and leisure into performance drivers: increased footfall, longer dwell times, improved spending dynamics, and enhanced site image.
Footfall is no longer dictated; it must be built.
The landscape is challenging for commercial property companies: the ready-to-wear crisis and the weakening of certain players, rapid transformation in food retail, the rise of home services, and evolving consumer expectations.
Dining and leisure are emerging as two key pillars that continue to draw people out of their homes. By simultaneously attracting, retaining, and encouraging spending, these offerings become a central driver for asset repositioning and value creation.
Contact Tomorrow Food to help you create and deploy attractive F&B and leisure programs, consistent and high-performing.
