Trends, Insights, and Reflections from MAPIC 2025

Last week, I attended the 30th anniversary edition of MAPIC, the leading global retail real estate conference, an event I’ve been visiting regularly since 2012. Over these years, MAPIC has evolved together with the market itself: from a conference devoted predominantly to shopping centres and leasing strategies to a global discussion on how technology, data, and human experience reshape the places where we meet, shop, and connect.

This year, one theme was impossible to miss — artificial intelligence. From consumer analytics to mall management, AI is no longer a supporting tool but a central player transforming how the retail ecosystem operates.

‍

From Tenant Mix to Consumer Mix

A key shift visible across all discussions is the move from “tenant mix management” to “consumer mix management.”
Developers and operators are no longer simply curating tenants — they are curating audiences and emotions. The success of a shopping centre increasingly depends on how well it understands and stimulates its visitors’ motivations, attention, and sense of belonging.

The focus is shifting toward creating dopamine-driven experiences — micro-moments of discovery, play, and comfort that offline spaces can offer better than any digital interface. This is where the physical world can reclaim its competitive edge against online shopping.

‍

The AI-Driven Mall Ecosystem

The integration of AI and machine learning across the mall lifecycle is becoming astonishingly sophisticated:

• Sales forecasting now relies on over 450 variables processed through 34 compounded algorithms, improving both accuracy and efficiency by more than 50%.
• Next-generation traffic analytics use surveillance camera networks of the centres, computer vision and neural networks to convert images of people into anonymised “tags,” mapping visitor behaviour, dwell time, and consumer flow across the mall.
• Digital mall strategies leverage AI before, during, and after a visit: from social media targeting to app-based engagement and loyalty systems, where over 70% of consumers actively participate.

The result is a vast data ecosystem feeding predictive models that shape leasing decisions, marketing actions, and operational efficiency in real time.

‍

What This Means for Architects and Developers

At Design Hub International, we see these trends as both a challenge and an opportunity.As AI takes over data-driven optimisation, our role as architects and development consultants is to focus on what algorithms still cannot replicate – empathy, meaning, and place.

The current trend of retail real estate, which lies in placemaking, may be enhanced and evolved. Crafting destinations that are not only about shopping but also about feeling. Spaces that provide comfort, connection, and recognition where communities, cities, and investors benefit in synergy.

Technology will tell us who our visitors are and how they behave.
Design must still answer why they come and how they feel.

We’re grateful to the MAPIC team and community for the opportunity to exchange insights, challenge assumptions, and build connections that help us all design better places.