Redefining retail: the strategic shift from linear mall toward circular shopping complex

Can shopping centres become centres for a circular society? And if yes, how can they evolve from linear consumption centres into vibrant, circular hubs that drive economic resilience and cultural relevance? The whitepaper “Don’t Call It Circular Society Mall”, presented today at Berlin Fashion Week, explores these questions. It was developed by the 202030 Think & Do Tank, launched on 1st July 2025 as an official partner event of Berlin Fashion Week, together with Berlin-based consultancy Studio MM04.

Why shopping malls?, one might ask. The starting point was a survey among more than 70 shopping malls in Berlin to address their structural and operational issues. This led to a reflection on the particular opportunities open to malls, as “compared to a shopping district or street, [malls] are actually a step ahead on the way towards circularity. Shopping malls already have an overarching management structure connecting a multitude of stakeholders. This management structure could be used to organise and run a very local circular economy system,” states the preamble.

Shopping malls are traditionally social and community-oriented

In fact, the very first modern-day shopping mall, “Southdale Center” in Edina, USA, was designed and opened in 1956 as a communal gathering place where people could go shopping and socialise all-year-round — a counter-proposal to car-centric life in suburban USA. Seventy years later, malls are “convenient spaces for everyday, and beyond consumption as well as for casual encounters and various forms of entertainment for all generations,” finds the whitepaper.

One might question the relevance of malls today in view of competition from global digital platforms like Shein and Temu, AI-driven social commerce (Instagram, TikTok) and second- hand platforms like Ebay, Vinted or Vestiaire Collective. However, the whitepaper argues that malls are especially relevant today because of all these digital offers:

“Digital natives are often increasingly seeking physical spaces that are accessible, beautiful and communal. Places to meet in real life, connect and participate in social and leisure activities. What was once casual strolling or window shopping is now better understood as curated coincidence, with environments intentionally designed to create meaningful, serendipitous encounters and experiences worth leaving the screen for.”

Shopping malls as circular “customer-relationship engines”

While existing malls face growing economic and regulatory pressures and traditional malls are often viewed as relics of linear consumption, their existing management structures, central locations and logistics capabilities uniquely position them to become platform providers for the circular economy. The whitepaper reframes circularity not merely as an environmental add-on, but as a “customer-relationship engine” designed to stabilise revenue and increase long-term asset value.

For fashion and lifestyle professionals, the most compelling takeaway is the potential for circular services — such as repair, resale, and rental — to increase footfalls, visit frequency and consumer trust. By shifting from a transaction-based model to one of participation, malls can create these “meaningful, serendipitous encounters” that digital platforms cannot replicate. This transformation is essential to remain relevant to Gen Z shoppers, who, despite being digital natives, still highly value physical, in-person experiences.

The regulatory landscape: ESPR and EPR

The whitepaper highlights a shifting legal framework that mandates change. Key drivers include the EU Ecodesign Regulation for Sustainable Products (ESPR), which requires products to be durable and repairable, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), making producers financially responsible for a product's end-of-life. These regulations will necessitate physical spaces for reverse logistics, sorting and grading — infrastructure that shopping malls are perfectly suited to host.

The whitepaper offers case studies to prove that this is possible. Circular pioneers include Green Pea in Turin, the world's first “Green Retail Park,” which uses a membership model to build community. There is also ReTuna in Sweden, a mall dedicated entirely to recycled and upcycled goods, and second-hand shopping centre Nochmall in Berlin. These cases demonstrate that while high fixed costs and consumer education remain challenges, circularity can be scaled into a mainstream, profitable retail environment.

Modular transformation: the Solution Pathway

Rather than proposing an overnight reinvention, the paper introduces a “Solution Pathway Framework”. This modular, step-by-step approach allows mall operators to test specific circular modules — such as repair hubs or resale pop-ups—before full-scale implementation. This “journey” approach mitigates risk by allowing for experimentation, failure, and adaptation in real-world retail laboratories.

The long-term vision is a “Circular Living Complex” — a mixed-use ecosystem where living, working and consuming are interconnected through circular principles. In this integrated model, a mall acts as a local “operating system” that orchestrates value creation across products and communities. It utilises a digital backbone, including Digital Product Passports (DPP), to track resources and reward sustainable consumer behaviour.

Redefining KPIs: beyond sales per square meter

To succeed, the whitepaper cautions that industry stakeholders should evolve their metrics for success. Traditional retail KPIs must be supplemented with new indicators such as “visits per customer,” resource recirculation and community participation. These new KPIs only hold value if they are translated into economic relevance for owners, such as through innovative leasing models or risk reduction from regulatory compliance.

A successful ‘Circular Society Mall’ must also cater to diverse mindsets. The whitepaper segments potential audiences into personas like “Anna,” the quality-seeking urban pragmatist; “Jonas,” the early adopter who prefers access over ownership; digital native “Gaya”; everyday traditionalist “Peter” and more. Understanding these varying motivations allows malls to design services that range from high-end fashion rentals to accessible community repair workshops.

New services, infrastructure and logistics: the backbone of circularity

Potential future offers could include providing more circular consumer goods and circular brands under one roof, second-hand and resale services, repair and refurbishment, upcycling, fashion libraries, learning labs and maker spaces as well as exhibitions. On the community building front, services like co-working, childcare, healthcare and sports could be offered as well as collaboration models that link mall spaces and offerings with surrounding schools and universities, cultural venues or local markets.

Operational success relies on integrating reverse logistics into a mall’s core functions. This includes standardising return processes and evaluating products for reusability. The whitepaper suggests that property owners should view this as a de-risking strategy that protects asset value against vacancy and ensures the building's energy efficiency meets upcoming EU standards.

Conclusion: a call for pre-competitive collaboration

The transition to a Circular Society Mall cannot be achieved in isolation. It requires “pre-competitive collaboration” between property owners, brands, municipalities and local communities. By sharing the risks of innovation and aligning on a shared vision, the fashion industry can turn today's regulatory and economic pressures into a long-term competitive advantage, creating spaces that are both economically viable and socially meaningful.

Last but not least, a fresh new concept requires a fresh new name, hence the term ‘Circular Society Mall’ serves only as a descriptive placeholder in the whitepaper. Especially the term ‘mall’ stands for a traditional consumption idea and “a model built for throughput rather than long-term value”.