How Gen Z consumers and the ‘trust economy’ are changing the mall experience
The actual retail landscape is progressing, as a brand-new generation of customers wants a different type of buying experience, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
These generations, whose purchasing choices are formed by international direct exposure and digital communities, are increasingly looking for meaningful, experience-driven retail. This, subsequently, is underpinning high-end retail environments that provide exclusivity and customised interactions.
Changes consist of reassessing mall lessee mix, leasing versions, programming and spatial layout. In Asia Pacific (Apac), retail pop-ups are additionally gaining prominence, generating around US$ 4.8 billion ($ 6.2 billion) in revenue in 2025, based on data from Market Intelo.
Meanwhile, physical locations in the high-end retail segment are additionally being improved by changing customer profiles. Cushman & Wakefield projects that by 2040, Gen X and “Next Gen” (referring broadly to younger cohorts, consisting of millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha) will comprise 80% of the global ultra-high-net-worth population.
As a result, property managers and sellers are pressing to make physical shops multi-functional settings where companies “drive engagement, storytelling and recurring involvement with consumers”, she added.
In a July 14 launch, the firm highlighted that Gen Z customers are leading the return of consumers to stores. A 2023 survey of Gen Z customers by L.E.K. Consulting, a global consultancy company, discovered that 64% of the group preferred in-store shopping, exceeding millennials, Gen X and baby boomers.
A huge part of that credibility is being developed and validated with consumers’ experience in-store. “Customers are forming opinions before they get in a shop, which suggests the shop has to provide on a promise that has already been made online,” stated Sona Aggarwal, regulating director and head of retail sales and approach for Asia Pacific at Cushman & Wakefield.
” Deluxe brand names are leading the way in relationship-driven clienteling, that is changing the function of retail sales affiliates from transactional vendors into lasting personal consultants,” said Aggarwal. “This clienteling method is directly reshaping shops as well, with premium merchants progressively taking dedicated exclusive suites.”
The changing demographic accompanies the surge of the “trust economic climate”, where trust is the principal money and the essential differentiator for services. In today’s environment, where services contest for users’ interest on social media sites, customers are trying to find labels they count on.
In the region, South Korea functions as a certain example of how the retail landscape is transforming, with shopping locations such as Myeongdong and Seongsu providing “experience-led ecosystems” that address to both domestic and worldwide shoppers. “The combination of beauty, health and cultural retail is evolving the way location executes, with stores designed to drive interaction and repeat visits rather than just purchases,” stated Suki Kim, head of study, South Korea at Cushman & Wakefield.
