Its retail market study reported that an additional 32,000m2 of retail space was occupied in 2018, up 11% from the year before.

It brings the total surface of retail space in use to 650,000 m2.

Cushman & Wakefield reported that retail rents cost on average €2,160/m2 per year in Grand Rue, in Luxembourg City, making it the most expensive shopping street in terms of rent in the country. Shopkeepers in the Gare district paid on average half that rate at around €1,080/m2 per year.

The retail sector is expected to continue to grow in 2019 with the extension of City Concorde, the opening of the Royal-Hamilius shopping centre in the centre of the capital and the Cloche d’Or centre, scheduled for end of May.

While physical shops continue to flourish, e-commerce has a strong toe-hold in the market. According to the study, eight out of ten 16-74-year-olds surveyed for a poll in Luxembourg had ordered goods online in Luxembourg in 2017. The rate was considerably higher than residents in Belgium (60%), France (67%) and Germany (75%).