Milan’s Via Montenapoleone is the most expensive retail destination internationally, outstripping competitors across the U.S., Europe and the Far East, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest ‘Main Streets Across the World’ report. Each year, Cushman looks at the retail rental rates of the most prestigious shopping streets, ranks them on a rent-per-square-foot basis, and analyzes the trends in supply and demand. The international real estate firm said that in 2024 global rents across 130 top locations were nearly 6% above pre-pandemic levels, with growth of more than 4% year-on-year. Via Montenapoleone, which ranked at number two last year, topped the chart with rents of $2,047 per sq ft annually, 11% higher than last year. Upper Fifth Avenue, between 49th and 60th Streets, in Manhattan ranked second, with rents of $2,000, broadly flat against the previous year. In third place was New Bond Street in London with rents pitched at $1,762 per sq ft annually, 13% higher than the year before.

Tsim Sha Tsui, or the main shopping street in Hong Kong, came in at number four, charging $1,607 per sq ft annually, 7% higher than last year. Paris’ Avenue des Champs Elysées was ranked fifth, with stores costing $1,282, or 10% above the previous year. Other top 10 destinations included Ginza, Toyko; Pitt Street Mall in Sydney, and Myeongdong in Seoul. Cushman noted that Via Montenapoleone is the first European shopping street to top the rankings, while the U.S. was the strongest performing region in the world with rent growth nearly 11% higher year-on-year, a ‘significant increase’ over 2023. Miami’s Design District led the U.S. rental growth, surging more than 66% year-on-year, and 150% over the past four years.

Globally, 57% of the streets tracked by Cushman experienced positive rental growth, with 14% registering rental decline. Physical stores and immersive experiences are helping to cement brand loyalty, Cushman said, adding that ‘while e-commerce plays a role in an omnichannel strategy, it is the physical embodiment of the brand that customers connect with. For this reason, luxury brands continue to scour strategic locations in search of suitable space.’