Cities and Retail: Sustainable Transformation of Retail in Urban Environments

1. Introduction

Commerce functions are on the basis of urban agglomerations, often justifying the existence of several cities and villages of different sizes, which explains how cities evolve throughout history [1,2]. It is in the urban sphere that retail exists in abundance and where most of the innovative processes that transform the sector initially take place [3].

In its essence, retail is an extremely dynamic sector. Its transformation can be seen in a wide array of aspects, on which many researchers have sought to guide their investigations in the last several decades [4,5,6]. For instance, within the final decades of the last century, the growth of some retail companies led to varying processes of concentration, through which a reduced number of companies gain a significant market share of a certain retail typology [7]. Food retail is often the main example, as some national and international food retail operators dominate the food retail landscape in several countries, such as that detected in Sweden by Franzen [8]. Some international clothing retail companies have also disseminated worldwide, provoking the decline of small, local-based independent stores. Interconnected with these changes is the appearance of new retail formats, disrupting the traditional urban retail systems mostly composed of brick-and-mortar stores, which were distributed alongside commercial centers, streets and other urban areas, questioning the earlier established retail hierarchies of shopping areas [9]. The peripheral location of shopping centers, its impacts on town centers alongside public policies and projects—such as those framed as retail-led urban regeneration projects [10]—toward the revitalization of these latter areas marked the scientific literature on the subject in the 1990s and 2000s [11,12,13], both of which were also periods characterized by a changing stance in public intervention regarding public–private partnerships, such as town center management schemes [14] and business improvement districts [15,16], illustrative of a neoliberal standpoint, but where concerns about the viability of city centers are also very much in evidence. Current contemporary transformations of retail cannot be discussed without mentioning the ongoing and possible future impacts of the internet, whereby discussions on the topic of e-commerce seem to be increasingly oversimplified to capture the complexity of multichannel and omnichannel platforms [17], a topic that the recent pandemic seems to have highlighted [18]. What most studies on these research subjects and others that fall within the geographies of retailing have in common is their focus on the connection with the territory, that is, the effects that such changes provoke in urban spaces [19]. Within the geographies of retailing, this sector is analyzed as more than merely an economic activity—the research of which would instead fall under the topic of economics—but rather is studied based on how changes in the sector impacts the vitality and viability of urban centers [20,21], and whether those changes will disrupt the respective urban retail systems, questioning the ability of the population to supply. This Special Issue has captured the diversity of the studies that focus on retail in relation to cities. It contains eight articles and one review, which I briefly describe in the next paragraphs. On this matter, I clarify that it is not the purpose of this Editorial to elaborate on each of the texts, but rather to encourage the reader to explore them.

2. An Overview of Published Articles

Luis Gómez’s article (contribution 1) discusses the dialectic public–private nature of shopping centers. The research incorporated a mixed method, comprising a literature review, a content analysis of traditional media, and notes from fieldwork observations. The results are discussed around the topics of what the author describes as ‘the false security of malls’, and ‘malls as antidemocratic, apolitical spaces that degrade the public sphere’. Seen as safe spaces, especially in contrast with the image of insecurity that characterizes town centers, Gómez claims that this safety is more perceived than evidenced, validating this claim with the recent cases of deadly attacks that have occurred in different countries. Regarding the consideration of shopping centers as antidemocratic, Gómez stresses the controlled nature of the spaces within shopping centers, claiming the inability of using them for acts of demonstration or others with political significance. To this matter, the author compares those spaces with public areas, such as emblematic squares, where several of the most emblematic protests often take place. However, the author also points out that due to the private nature of shopping centers, seen as a globalization product, some social protests have recently been occurring in these premises. The study concludes that, despite the general perception of shopping centers as safe public spaces, the overcontrol does not totally undermine dangerous occurrences, such as terrorist attacks, shoplifting, fires, etc. Moreover, the overcontrol can also be seen as antidemocratic, replicating some of the existent social segregation issues.

The article by Krizan et al. (contribution 2) is also focused on shopping centers; in this case, the authors aimed to develop a comparative analysis of the evolution of this retail format in the cities of Prague and Bratislava. This article adopts a quantitative approach and presents a set of maps displaying the location of existing shopping centers in those two cities according to: (i) the classification of the place where they were built (brownfield or greenfield), (ii) their location in relation to the city center and town (edge of center, out of center, out of town), and (iii) the size of the existent shopping centers in both analyzed cities. This research reveals a certain delay in the opening of shopping centers in both countries, stressing that the greater economic opening of the 1990s led to a rapid expansion of commerce, either through the entry of new companies into the sector landscape of both countries, or by fostering the growth of the shopping center industry. In addition, this research also shows that Prague, in comparison to Bratislava, is in a more advanced stage of shopping center development. It also demonstrates that there is a tendency for new commercial spaces to be smaller and to be located in areas closer to the center of cities. The authors claim that this last trend is positive in terms of sustainability, although it can have negative effects on the commercial fabric of the traditional shopping streets in the city center.

The third article is from the same previous authors (contribution 3) with the aim to investigate the managerial and marketing strategies adopted by the managers of shopping centers to communicate with the different groups of individuals that comprise retail precincts, such as tenants, clients and employees. Methodological, this research is supported via a quantitative approach, wherein a questionnaire was delivered to all shopping centers in the Czech Republic, gathering a total of 24 valid responses. The main conclusions obtained from the questionnaires stress the importance given to the economic dimension, in detriment of the social dimension, as well as a significant variety of marketing tools and forms.

The fourth text published in this Special Issue is a review by Ilyas et al. (contribution 4) on the costumers’ next-item recommendation techniques. Assuming that there is a gap in the academic analysis on the next-item recommendation system, six research questions were established for this research. Methodologically, the authors performed a systematic literature review with the objective to support future research on the subject. After the process of inclusion and exclusion used for systematic reviews, a total of ninety articles published between 2017 and 2022 were used. With the exception of the first research question, which the authors address in the introduction, the authors scanned the selected articles, dividing the empirical components into several subsections, each dedicated to answering the starting questions. Thus, more than conclusions, the validity of this investigation, which was framed as a review, comes from the comprehensive analysis with which the subject under study is analyzed in its different dimensions.

The article by Blazy and Labuz (contribution 5) possesses some similarities with the second article in terms of objectives, as it aims to analyze the development of shopping centers in the city of Kraków, Poland. Using a database of existing shopping centers in Poland, a spatial analysis was conducted to map the location of those commercial spaces in Krakow. The authors utilized as parameters: (1) the types of urbanization zones in which the shopping centers were built (low-urbanized or urbanized; greenfield or brownfield), (2) the types of investments involved and (3) the standard deviation ellipses from different years in the construction of these spaces, and (4) their distances from the city center. The main conclusions point to the intensive development of the shopping center industry in Poland in the last several decades, to the variety of areas where shopping centers have been built, and also to some evidences that show that recent shopping centers were inaugurated in areas closer to the city center.

In the sixth article, Guimarães (contribution 6) focuses on the evolution of the commercial fabric in the city center of Lisbon. Recognizing that change is a persistent characteristic of retail, this research aims to unfold the main features that currently characterize the commercial fabric of Lisbon, considering the pressure made by the tourism industry, which situates this city in a context of overtourism. Adopting a mixed method methodology, maps are presented to illustrate some of the changes that have occurred between 1995 and 2007. For an analysis of the present situation, the author resorts to the concept of authenticity and uses photo-analysis as a research methodological approach. The conclusions point to the difficulty of analyzing the current change in the commercial fabric when based only on the reading of the evolution of the commercial mix, as well as the usefulness of the concept of authenticity to understand how this change is made through the use of elements considered as being authentic to the local culture, thus supporting the consolidation of the transformation of the city center into a place of consumption and leisure.

The research from Hangebruch and Othengrafen (contribution 7) delves into the transformation of department stores in Germany. Based on the assumption that retail spaces that become vacant can be occupied with different functions, the authors focus on the concept of urban resilience to analyze how former department stores can have new uses. A literature review is developed, through which the authors unfold ten dimensions for resilient city centers. They are further mobilized to analyze the evolution of five department stores, selected as case studies. The authors stress the relevance of these ten dimensions and advise their use as a toolkit for local authorities, and also conclude that the reconversion of large retail spaces is important for the resilience of the city centers where they are located.

Hengstermann and Jehling’s study (contribution 8) focuses on the location of food discount stores in Switzerland, aiming to comprehend if spatial patterns can be unfolded. Their study draws from the absence of retail planning instruments that control the location of this type of retail store in Switzerland between 2005 and 2016. This allowed the authors to work on an isotropic non-regulatory geographical context to test the preferences of top food retail companies in terms of location. Their main results demonstrate that new commercial ventures present a significant dispersion, frequently not complying with the non-mandatory planning policy goals. Thus, even though the need for tighter mechanisms to control the commercial location is reinforced, the study also demonstrates that the negative direct effects in terms of urban sprawl were not very expressive, as most of the new establishments are located in urban areas with some kind of use, such as commercial or industrial areas.

Ribeiro’s work (contribution 9) is at the crossroads of several research fields in the geographies of retailing, focusing on agri-food products sold in specialized/gourmet stores in the major Portuguese cities of Lisbon and Porto. Through this, the article approaches research centered on retail supply chains, whose growing relevance comes from the diversified consumer demand for products that are produced close to the place of sale and subsequent consumption, a concept found to be valued more recently amongst consumers. It applies a quantitative methodology, whose cartography allows readers to perceive the locations of the commercial establishments analyzed in the investigation. Among other relevant conclusions, this study and its results are particularly relevant in two aspects. Firstly, in a context in which the main centralities of both cities are being reformulated, and considering that commerce is a fundamental element in urban viability and vitality, this study helps to understand the behavior of different city centers. Secondly, the pertinence for the discussion of the sustainability of retail supply chains is highlighted. The concern with sustainable consumption can cause changes in the way specialized/gourmet stores present their product, in a trend of increasing appreciation for the place, and this study seems to demonstrate that such appreciation still does not occur.

3. Conclusions

This compilation of articles devoted to the geographies of retailing encompasses a diverse range of research, elucidative of the richness of the research field. This is also reflected in the different methodologies that were adopted for the studies, ranging from qualitative approaches based on in situ observation and interviews, to quantitative studies using geographical information systems to map the evolution of certain commercial typologies in the respective case studies.

In terms of subject, shopping centers continue to make their mark in this Special Issue, with four articles focusing on this commercial format. It should be noted, however, that while the discussion about their location patterns is central to two of the articles, in the remaining two that are dedicated to the study of shopping centers, the focus is different, namely on the public–private dialectic concerning their frequency in one study, and the business strategies adopted by their management structures in the remaining research. This variety adds new readings on the research of shopping centers in relation to those traditionally used at the beginning of the century, repeatedly centered on the impact of the peripheral opening of new retail spaces.

The location of retail spaces also assumes a prominent role in this Special Issue. In addition to the two texts focused on the location of shopping centers, another text searched for a pattern on the location of food retail stores. This latter text takes on public policies, or the lack of restrictive retail policies in a certain period of time in Switzerland. This consideration of planning policies as a relevant factor for retail development is also the basis that forms the argument of the text that combines the growth of tourism in Lisbon with the transformation of its commercial fabric. The use of resilience in one of the texts to analyze the conversion of former department stores in Germany is also relevant, as it continues to mobilize a concept, whose wide application in retail studies can be traced to the previous decade [19]. The texts described above are elucidative of the thematic renewal of studies centered on commerce, where the same object of study acquires a new problematization, implying, in this way, that there is a situated problematic temporalization in which the object of study remains as a fixed element; varying the lens of analysis, which adjusts to the most recent characteristics of society. The formal review text (contribution 4) takes on a different character, as the study focuses on the application of new technological tools to support commercial activity. In this way, the constant timeliness of studies centered on commerce is confirmed, insofar as the evolution of society, whether in terms of relationships or emerging technologies, requiring the commercial sector to adapt to dynamic and continuous changes. Thus, the current studies presented in this Special Issue should be seen not only as the results of investigations carried out by the respective researchers, but also as starting points, inviting readers to continue with new studies on the themes explored.

As a final note, I would also like to highlight the particularity that all the texts, with the exception of the review, are based on case studies from European countries that are usually less represented in the mainstream literature. Thus, this novelty highlights the relevance and importance of this Special Issue, allowing the reader to find research focused on national contexts other than the usual ones, which allows a more complete view on the research field of the geographies of retailing.

List of Contributions

• Escudero Gómez, L.A. The Reconfiguration of Urban Public–Private Spaces in the Mall: False Security, Antidemocratization, and Apoliticalization. Sustainability 2021, 13, 12447. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212447.
• Križan, F.; Kunc, J.; Bilková, K.; Novotná, M. Transformation and Sustainable Development of Shopping Centers: Case of Czech and Slovak Cities. Sustainability 2022, 14, 62. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010062.
• Kunc, J.; Križan, F.; Novotná, M.; Bilková, K. Social Dimension of Shopping Centers Operation: Managerial Perspectives. Sustainability 2022, 14, 709. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14020709.
• Ilyas, Q.M.; Mehmood, A.; Ahmad, A.; Ahmad, M. A Systematic Study on a Customer’s Next-Items Recommendation Techniques. Sustainability 2022, 14, 7175. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127175.
• Blazy, R.; Łabuz, R. Spatial Distribution and Land Development Parameters of Shopping Centers Based on GIS Analysis: A Case Study on Kraków, Poland. Sustainability 2022, 14, 7539. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14137539.
• Guimarães, P. Tourism and Authenticity: Analyzing Retail Change in Lisbon City Center. Sustainability 2022, 14, 8111. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14138111.
• Hangebruch, N.; Othengrafen, F. Resilient Inner Cities: Conditions and Examples for the Transformation of Former Department Stores in Germany. Sustainability 2022, 14, 8303. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148303.
• Hengstermann, A.H.; Jehling, M. Understanding Private Preferences in Urban Development—Analysing Spatial Patterns of Food Discount Stores Locations in Switzerland. Sustainability 2023, 15, 6015. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15076015.
• Ribeiro, C.; Viana, C.; Girão, I.; Figueiredo, E.; Rocha, J. The spatiotemporal links between towns and countryside through the sale and consumption of rural products: the case of Oporto and Lisbon cities. Sustainability 2023, 15, 12038.