The vacancy rate in Kyiv shopping malls is still higher than before the war. Regional and district shopping malls lost the most visitors during the full-scale war, and the most stress-resistant were the retail spaces in the district SEC format. This was stated by UTG company director Evgenia Loktionova during her speech at RAU Expo 2025, as reported by Delo.ua.

According to the company’s research, the current attendance of regional centers (50 thousand square meters) is 315 thousand people per thousand square meters, while the district one – an average of 552 people. A regional SEC is usually larger than a district one. Regional SECs have an area of ​​over 50,000 square meters, while district ones are usually smaller – 20-30 thousand sq. m.

In the fourth year of the war, the average vacancy rate of SECs in the Kyiv market is 13%. Compared to the beginning of the war in February-May 2022 (17-21%), this is a better indicator, but regional centers are also the biggest losers here (vacancy rate of 16%) – we are talking about such SECs as Promenada center, “Atmosfera”, “Marmelad”. While the district format has a much better result – an average of 6% of free space.

Thus, according to Evgenia Loktionova, during the war, it was the district SECs that showed the greatest stress resistance. “There is almost no vacancy here, people come and buy steadily, the conversion is high and the main indicators have not changed for the fourth year in a row. This, in particular, is the Smart Plaza Polytech or Smart Plaza Obolon SECs,” she explained.

According to her, important factors of sustainability were not only high accessibility, but also optimal adaptation of the format to the realities of war. In the district SEC, in addition to the grocery segment, fashion, electronics and children’s goods stores, a sports club, a cinema, and a pharmacy are necessarily involved.

According to Loktionova, an even better result can be obtained by the synergy of various areas of vital needs with trade, education, and recreation. This allows you to save a lot of time and energy to allocate them to more important matters.

“The new White Lines SEC, which is being launched on the market today, also includes a polyclinic, kindergarten, and coworking. We called this format “to a SEC in slippers” – when the retail space is connected to a residential complex during the design. And its residents will be able to go down to the gallery without going outside, but directly in their slippers,” noted the director of UTG company.

Therefore, unlike the regional format, in the district format, when selecting tenants, the main focus is not on the assortment, but on the widest possible range of services and goods. This allows covering the most important everyday needs and saving time for residents of such a residential complex and district.

“The viability of district formats was also proven by quarantine. Then it became clear that if you have a SEC near your house or right in your house, which covers your everyday needs as much as possible, it makes life much easier. The same story is observed during the war,” Loktionova emphasized in a comment to Delo.ua.