According to the annual balance sheet presented by hystreet.com, footfall increased by around 1.5% in 2024 compared to the previous year. At the same time, the hystreet index Hyx rose by 1.5 points to 103.32 and reached its usual annual high of 124.93 in December. The index is comparable to the Dax stock market index and provides a key figure for current frequencies at more than 320 measuring points throughout Germany. In the 2024 Christmas season, the cities were fuller than in the previous year. During Advent, 4% more passers-by were measured compared to the comparative period of the previous year, which was, however, rather rainy.
They recorded above-average increases in footfall compared to the previous year Kaufinger Street in Munich (+ 5.8%), the Main street in Heidelberg (+ 5.7%) and Jungfernstieg in Hamburg (+5.5%). Hanover (Georgstrasse), Düsseldorf (Flinger Strasse), Cologne (Ehrenstrasse), and Nuremberg (Karolinenstrasse) also show growth rates of almost 5%. The absolute leaders in 2024 as a whole were once again Kaufinger Straße (30.5 million passers-by) and Neuhauser Straße (29.0 million) in Munich, Zeil in Frankfurt (23.7 million) and Georgstraße in Hanover (23 .3 million).
However, fluctuations are also noticeable. The decline in consumer sentiment in September 2024 is reflected in footfall, as is the rainy weather. Both factors put a damper on the frequencies.
Nevertheless, according to Hystreet, the numbers show that people are resilient to crises despite many uncertainties. “The overall positive development of the frequency data shows that the economically difficult environment only causes slight fluctuations in the number of visitors in the city centers,” says Julian Aengenvoort, Managing Director of hystreet.com GmbH. Habituation effects may also have played a role here. “This makes it clear that people continue to value city centers as the center of social life, especially when they are attractively “played” with events such as city festivals or Sunday shopping, adds Nico Schröder, also managing director of hystreet.com GmbH . Passenger frequencies on Black Friday shot up by 48%. “Nevertheless, despite increased footfall, many retailers continue to struggle to attract customers to their stores and increase their sales,” says Julian Aengenvoort. What is crucial here is that stationary retail succeeds in turning the many visitors to city centers into buyers through creative concepts and exciting experiences. Passerby frequencies had already increased by around 2% in 2023 compared to 2022. “The extent to which this positive trend, which has lasted over two years, will continue in the new year will depend above all on further macroeconomic developments – in particular on the uncertainty of consumers in the context of the ongoing crises,” explains Aengenvoort.
