Retail in Mexico: Three Thousand New Stores Prove Brick-and-Mortar Isn’t Dead

That logic isn't limited to a handful of companies—it plays out across entire sectors. Hence, beyond which brands are opening stores, the real question is: which industries are managing to withstand an environment shaped by inflation, rising interest rates, and more recently, signs of recession?

In the past three years, ten sectors, out of more than forty, accounted for 70% of all new store openings in shopping centers. SiiLA data reveals a pattern of focus, not dispersion—indicating that the market isn't expanding aggressively in all directions, but rather channeling resources toward essential functions, where everyday consumption, basic services, and frequent-use entertainment converge.

At the same time, within those sectors, brands are rolling out diversification strategies: adjusting formats, scales, and functions to maintain visibility. This is a direct response to what the environment demands in a country where, according to INEGI, “the older a business gets, the lower its probability of dying.” For instance, half of all new businesses close within their first two years, while only four out of every hundred do so in their third.

Diversity can also be measured in square meters. Seven out of every ten stores opened in the last three years in Mexico's main retail markets were mid-sized, around 400 square meters. Two out of ten were small, under 200. The rest spanned a variety of formats—from kiosks to anchor stores.

That variability is no accident: it's a structural outcome of how the commercial ecosystem evolves in response to market incentives.

Today, store size and location aren't determined solely by budget or availability, but by each store's role within the broader spatial dynamic. Large stores draw traffic, but that traffic only translates into value when it coexists with smaller formats that capitalize on it with high frequency and low operating costs. In this way, presence becomes fragmented—but not scattered; it adapts according to the marginal utility that each square meter can contribute to the whole. This means it's not the result of a centralized strategy, but rather a shared adaptation to how the urban economy actually works.

In the e-commerce era—where physical spaces both compete with and benefit from digital ones—shopping centers aren't disappearing; they're being redefined, no longer as showrooms but as urban platforms, where physical presence still holds a kind of power that digital channels can't replace: the ability to generate experience, community, and permanence.

To learn more about the performance of Mexico's retail market, visit SiiLA REsource or write to us at contacto@siila.com.mx.