Active construction of shopping and entertainment centers continues in Ukraine. In total, almost a million square meters of new retail spaces are being built – we are talking about 56 shopping malls, the construction of which began or was resumed after 2022. Such data led Maksym Havryushin, head of the Ukrainian Council of Shopping Centers and operations director of Budhouse Group.
According to him, in 2025, it is planned to put into operation approximately 250,000 square meters of retail space, covering 14 new shopping malls. In 2026, another 280,000–290,000 square meters are expected to be introduced. At the same time, even taking into account these volumes, the level of market saturation remains much lower than in European countries.
“As of today, with a total market volume of about 6 million square meters (including temporarily occupied territories), this figure increases to 150-170 square meters per 1,000 inhabitants. Depending on which population we take as a basis: 35 or 40 million. This is still significantly less than in many European countries, where the average figure is 300+ square meters, and in some countries such as Sweden, Norway or Great Britain, it reaches 700-1,000 squares,” – explains Havryushin.
He noted that the level of saturation varies greatly depending on the city. Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa have the highest figures — according to pre-war estimates, more than 500 square meters per 1,000 inhabitants. In smaller settlements, where the saturation level exceeds 300–400 sq. m per thousand people, there are often difficulties in filling them with tenants, and part of the mall is forced to stop working.
