How do people shop in Luxembourg ?

For the first time ever, CBRE conducted a survey of consumers in Luxembourg. During the summer of 2019, more than 500 Luxembourg residents shared their shopping habits and preferences, revealing what makes them tick. The respondents were diverse, spanning a broad spectrum of ages, family composition, income level, nationality and region of residence, with males and females roughly evenly split.

This survey identifies four major tendencies that are defining the behaviour of the Luxembourgish consumers.

First, Luxembourgers have a strongly preferred retail format which is the shopping centre. Almost half of the respondents visit a shopping centre at least once every two weeks, which is far more frequent than high streets and retail parks. On the surface, these habits are reflective of the retail landscape. Indeed, given the small density nature of Luxembourgish towns, the high street is not well-developed outside of Luxembourg city, facing a very high ratio of shopping centre floor space relative to the population.

Luxembourg residents also expressed certain preferences on important factors they systematically consider when choosing where to shop. That is how we discover that the most important factor is the cleanliness of the facilities, followed by the price of the products, the parking facilities, the security and the ease of access; which are all factors that largely concern the facilities themselves and not necessarily the retail offer. It almost goes without saying that preferences differ somewhat according to the age. Thus, when considering where to shop, the youngest group (18 to 34 yrs) prefer to pay attention to the retail offer, the shop variety and the accessibility, whereas for the two oldest groups (45 to 64 yrs), it is more about cleanliness, parking facilities and security.

The third trend that emerges from this survey is that three-quarters of shoppers consider dining part of the shopping experience. Indeed, more than 42% of those surveyed very often or always eat while shopping, with a large preference for independent establishments, followed by fast foods and other quick snacks places.

Finally, the last tendency, that may appear surprising, is that Luxembourgers still more frequently visit shops than buy products online. Despite the fact that 60% of respondents have declared visiting an online shop at least once per month (of which 46% are the 18 to 24 yrs category), overall, 70% are frequenting physical stores more often, highlighting that brick-and-mortar shops are still dominant despite the growing popularity of ecommerce.

The way retailers can interact with customers and the way the internet is being used in shopping continues to expand beyond “traditional” online orders. Omnichannel strategies have been integrated into retail markets and consumers know how to adapt quickly. Now it has become common to order online, pick-up in store, buy another item while picking up an online order, or using a mobile app while shopping.

Click here to download the full report.

About CBRE Luxembourg

CBRE Luxembourg is part of CBRE Group, Inc. which is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, with 2020 revenues of $23.8 billion and more than 105,000 employees (excluding affiliate offices).

CBRE has been included on the Fortune 500 since 2008, ranking #128 in 2020. It also has been voted the industry’s top brand by the Lipsey Company for 20 consecutive years, and has been named one of Fortune’s “Most Admired Companies” for nine years in a row, including being ranked number one in the real estate sector in 2021, for the third consecutive year.

Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CBRE.”’

In Luxembourg, more than 30 employees have been advising our clients on commercial real estate for nearly 13 years.