Roksolana Pyrtko on How Middle Eastern Shopping Centers Overtook Europe

 

Over the past decade, a quiet but remarkable shift has taken place on the global retail real estate map. If Europe and the United States once set the standards for planning, service, and conceptual solutions for shopping centers, today the center of innovation is steadily moving to the Middle East. Developments in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are not only growing in scale — they are shaping a new model of shopping malls as multifunctional spaces that combine retail, leisure, urbanism, and technology.

Analytical reports by JLL and Knight Frank confirm that in the MENA region, investments in shopping centers remain among the most dynamic in the world. Developers here have the opportunity to design from scratch, use large land plots, implement digital solutions, and create formats that already extend beyond the classical European approach.

For the professional community, this means one thing: to understand the future of retail, it is no longer Europe that should be the primary reference point but the Middle East. The most influential developments that define the standards of the next decade are happening there.

Shopping Centers as New “Urban Hubs”: Why MENA Has Pulled Ahead of Europe

The main difference between European and Middle Eastern shopping centers lies not in scale, but in the role they play in people’s everyday lives. In Europe, malls traditionally remain commercial facilities — a place for shopping with a limited range of services. In MENA countries, they have evolved into full-fledged urban hubs combining entertainment, family recreation, education, sports infrastructure, and even elements of cultural policy.

In fact, a modern shopping mall in the UAE or Saudi Arabia is not a “shopping center” but a place where life happens. This is why such complexes now include food halls, theme parks, aquariums, ice rinks, e-sports arenas, medical centers, and even university hubs. This format allows one facility to be both a local gathering point and a key part of tourist infrastructure — especially relevant for Dubai or Doha.

Knight Frank analytics show that the “mall-as-destination” model has become the region’s defining development strategy. Europe is moving in this direction, but at a much slower pace, partly due to historic urban density, strict regulations, and limitations on changing the functional use of buildings. In MENA, flexible planning and government support enabled developers to create a new type of retail real estate focused on experience rather than rental square meters.

Scale and Freedom of Design: An Advantage Europe Cannot Replicate

One of the key reasons Middle Eastern malls show such high levels of innovation is the ability to design from a blank slate, without historical constraints or land shortages. European developers operate in dense urban environments where any update requires complex approvals, integration into existing infrastructure, and significant land costs.

In MENA countries, by contrast, large available land plots and state development strategies allow for concepts that are physically impossible in most European capitals. As a result, the region is creating retail complexes that exceed traditional mall formats — with sports arenas, indoor parks, giant atriums, water features, and extensive leisure zones.

In practice, the Middle East gained the opportunity to design malls not as reconstructions of the past, but as infrastructure for the future. Europe, meanwhile, must operate within existing urban frameworks, limiting both scale and functional flexibility.

New Standards of Comfort and Service: Why MENA Is Moving Faster Than Europe

While European malls still focus primarily on retail and basic services, Middle Eastern developers prioritize creating experiences rather than just shopping environments. In MENA countries, developers consistently invest in features that turn mall visits into events: expanded leisure zones, conceptual food halls, multimedia installations, interactive navigation, high service standards, and entertainment for all age groups.

Climate plays a major role. In GCC countries, many activities throughout the year shift indoors, making the mall a primary public space. This drives heightened attention to comfort: intelligent air-conditioning systems, optimized microclimates, quiet zones, barrier-free access, large atriums with natural light, and flexible relaxation areas. These features go far beyond the traditional European model, where customer experience has historically been less emphasized.

Research by Majid Al Futtaim shows that visitors in GCC countries spend significantly more time in malls than Europeans do. For developers, this means higher tenant efficiency, better monetization, and more stable foot traffic. For the market overall, it represents a shift toward a model where the shopping center is not only a place to buy goods but a place to spend time — giving the region a clear advantage in format development.

Technology and Data Management: The Smart Model That Became Standard in MENA

A key strength of Middle Eastern shopping centers is their systematic adoption of technologies integrated into the entire operational model. In GCC countries, digitalization is not a trend but a standard: automated parking systems, contactless payments, integrated navigation apps, loyalty programs, visitor-flow analytics, and commerce-data systems used to manage tenant mixes.

What Europe often treats as innovation has long been basic infrastructure in MENA. Developers actively use data to optimize operations — from energy consumption and climate control to the placement of leisure zones and food hall queues. Large groups like Majid Al Futtaim and Emaar have dedicated analytics teams monitoring visitor behavior and forecasting traffic.

This approach significantly increases mall efficiency:

• tenants receive more stable traffic and better conversion,
• developers can test and adjust formats more quickly,
• visitors get a space that responds to their needs in real time.

Europe is also moving toward digital integration but more slowly due to regulations, market fragmentation, and lower readiness to invest in large-scale data systems. In MENA, technological sophistication has long become a competitive advantage.

Conclusion & Expert View: What Europe and Ukraine Can Learn from the MENA Model

In summary, technology must become a standard rather than an optional feature. Interactive navigation, data analytics, smart parking, and operational automation already define mall efficiency in MENA and are increasingly critical for Europe and Ukraine.

A key development thesis is shifting from a “place for shopping” to a “place for spending time.” With the rise of e-commerce and delivery services, tenants will inevitably shrink their physical formats, as more goods move online. Customers find it easier to order with often free delivery. This means malls must rethink their concepts, redistribute space, and create extensive leisure zones focused on relaxation, entertainment, and social interaction.

Climate is becoming an increasingly relevant factor for Europe as well. Rising average temperatures and recurring summer heat waves increase demand for enclosed, comfortable, cooled environments. People will visit malls not only to shop but primarily to spend their free time — and malls must be prepared to offer that.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has an important advantage: fewer historical constraints allow for the faster implementation of modern, flexible, technology-driven formats than in most European cities. This opens the opportunity to build the models of the future today.

Consumers in Lviv and across Ukraine readily embrace new formats, creating a supportive environment for innovation and experimentation. This is why the combination of technological sophistication and leisure-oriented design represents the most promising development path for shopping centers in the region.