Retail, market data - Figures second quarter 2026 Spain

The retail market in Spain maintained a very positive performance during the first half of 2026, supported by the strength of private consumption and the growth of international tourism. The combination of these factors continues to drive interest from both brands and investors in the most competitive assets in the market.

High Street: strong demand and limited availability

The High Street market closed the first half of the year with strong demand from both domestic and international retailers, although activity continued to be constrained by the shortage of available space in the most established locations. This limited supply has restricted the number of leasing transactions.

Availability remains at historically low levels, standing at around 1% in Madrid and 2% in Barcelona, reflecting the high occupancy levels of the country’s main retail corridors. In this context, prime rents remained stable at €245/sq m/month, following the increases recorded during 2025.

By operator type, fashion continues to lead new openings and commercial expansion, accounting for 35% of transactions completed during the first half of the year, followed by specialty retail—particularly optics, beauty and perfumery—alongside food & beverage, grocery and services.

Shopping centres: growth in sales and footfall

Shopping centres extended the positive trend observed in recent years during the first half of 2026. Sales increased by 6% year-on-year, while footfall rose by 3.9%, mainly driven by leisure and entertainment operators, which continue to gain relevance within retail assets.

Occupancy reached 94.3%, remaining at very high levels and supporting further improvement in prime rents, which increased by 5% during the first half of the year. Demand is mainly focused on the most dominant centres and on assets that have invested in space refurbishment and an enhanced customer experience.

Investment: retail reinforces its appeal

Retail investment volume exceeded €1.6 billion during the first six months of 2026, up 3% year-on-year. With this result, the sector ranked as the third largest real estate segment by investment volume in Spain, behind only Living and Hotels.

By segment, shopping centres led investment activity, accounting for more than €800 million and recording volumes significantly above the average of recent years. Retail parks followed, gaining increasing relevance and already surpassing in the first half of the year the total volume invested across the whole of 2025. High Street continues to attract solid investor interest, mainly led by private capital focused on prime assets in the main retail locations.

Institutional investors continue to show strong interest in core and core+ assets, particularly dominant regional centres with solid operational fundamentals.

In terms of prime yields, High Street remained stable at 3.75%, while shopping centres stood at 6.25%, following the compression recorded since the beginning of 2025.