Optimized rental of retail spaces using a digital twin
-40%
Marketing
+50%
Requests
100%
Achieved price
The Challenge
The Rheinland Mall management faced a complex task in re-leasing several strategically important retail spaces in an established shopping center in Cologne. Due to the structural changes in retail & showrooms, well-known chain stores and international brands were looking for highly flexible sales spaces. However, the traditional marketing methods, which essentially consisted of static 2D floor plans and conventional wide-angle photographs, increasingly proved to be insufficient to give demanding expansion managers a realistic sense of the space. In particular, the visibility of the storefronts from the mall's various walkways, as well as the precise spatial dimensions of ceiling heights and utility shafts, could hardly be reliably assessed on paper. Since decision-makers of large retail chains often operate from international headquarters and wanted to minimize time-consuming business trips for initial inspections, the leasing process began to stall. The risk of costly vacancies in prime Cologne city center locations grew week by week, as potential tenants lacked the necessary planning certainty for their store construction concepts.
Our Solution
FotoEstate realized, as a technological spearhead, a seamless, highly precise digital twin of the entire shopping center based on the market-leading Matterport Pro3 technology. To avoid disrupting the ongoing operations of the mall, the scans were conducted during traffic-free night hours. Our experts captured not only the vacant retail spaces in detail but also the adjacent mall areas, escalators, and customer flow axes, in order to spatially map the exact micro-location of each unit within the overall structure. Through the use of LiDAR-supported laser scanning technology, we generated a centimeter-accurate point cloud of the property. In the interactive Matterport tour, we integrated intelligent 'Mattertags.' These digital information points provided expansion managers with direct access to important technical data such as electrical and water connections, structural load transfer points, exact wall dimensions, and existing ventilation systems. Additionally, the distinctive Dollhouse view was unlocked, offering a completely new, transparent perspective on the entire spatial layout of the Cologne mall.
The Result
The implementation of the digital twin revolutionized the entire leasing process of Rheinland Mall Management. Through the photorealistic Matterport tour, expansion departments worldwide were able to virtually walk through the retail spaces in Cologne, check sightlines, and carry out interior planning directly in the digital model via measurement mode. The time-consuming initial on-site viewings were drastically reduced, as only highly qualified prospects with a final intention to sign visited in person. In a very short time, all vacant spaces were successfully leased to renowned anchor tenants under the desired conditions. The marketing duration decreased by a remarkable 40%, effectively preventing the potential loss of rent. The number of qualified inquiries increased by over 50% following the relaunch of the marketing campaign with the virtual twin. Rheinland Mall Management thus achieved not only an outstanding ROI but also established the Matterport tour as a standard for future asset and center management of the entire real estate portfolio.
Project Deep Dive: Process & Details
The initial situation: A demanding marketing
The renowned shopping center in Cologne boasts excellent foot traffic and an attractive catchment area. Nevertheless, marketing available retail units in the premium segment had become increasingly challenging. Rheinland Mall Management was used to leasing spaces through traditional exposés. However, modern retail brands today demand much deeper insights before the first contractual commitment. An unfurnished store with bare concrete walls and exposed installations appears uninspiring in standard photos (a challenge that also applies in the high-end residential sector, as our Penthouse Marketing in Frankfurt shows). There was a lack of an innovative, visual medium that conveys the dynamics of the location and the actual structural conditions in a contemporary way and provides potential tenants with a reliable planning basis directly at their desk.
The hurdle: Overcoming uncertainty in potential customers
In modern branch operations, decisions about opening a new location are often made by global committees. The biggest hurdle for the Cologne center management was the spatial and temporal distance to the expansion managers. Without an exact understanding of the ceiling structures, load-bearing capacities, and above all the visibility of the store front for mall visitors, the brands hesitated to invest significant sums in store construction. Two-dimensional floor plans could not convey the complex geometry of the corner spaces and the visual impact of the shop windows when passing by. This visual uncertainty led to lengthy internal review processes on the part of the tenants and blocked the quick and seamless transition between old and new tenants.
The Concept: Visual Excellence and Attention to Detail
FotoEstate developed a comprehensive digitalization concept that went far beyond simple 360-degree photography. The goal was to create an absolutely reliable, metric representation of reality – a true digital twin. The concept envisaged seamlessly linking the vacant rental spaces with the public traffic areas of the mall. This would allow the user to virtually enter the store directly from the mall in order to analyze the window display effect precisely. We planned the strategic placement of multimedia information points (Mattertags) to visually answer technical detail questions directly in the space, thereby massively reducing the administrative effort for mall management in advance.
The Implementation: Technology Meets Craft
The technical implementation was carried out with the state-of-the-art Matterport Pro3 camera, which is specially designed for large interior and exterior spaces. Our specialized scanning team captured the areas in the late evening hours after the mall's closure to ensure undisturbed, clean image data and precise LiDAR measurements. Over 150 scan points were meticulously interconnected. In the subsequent cloud processing, a photorealistic 3D model was generated from the billions of measurement points. Afterwards, our technicians implemented the specific data sheets, building services plans, and fire protection regulations as interactive hotspots directly into the three-dimensional spatial structure, creating a comprehensive information and walkthrough tool.
The result: A flawless marketing success
The use of FotoEstate's digital twin proved to be a resounding success for Rheinland Mall Management. The expansion managers of the contacted retail chains were enthusiastic about the ability to measure the Cologne spaces digitally down to the centimeter, without having to travel physically. This completely eliminated all construction-related concerns in advance. The lease agreements for all vacant units were signed in record time, thereby completely avoiding impending vacancies. The achieved rental price exactly matched the owner's maximum expectations. The partnership convincingly demonstrated that immersive 3D technologies in modern commercial real estate marketing are the decisive key to efficiency and maximum value creation.
What our partners say
"We work exclusively with Fotoestate. The lighting is perfect every single time."
"Our click rates on portals have noticeably increased since we started working with Fotoestate."
"Thanks for the great photos! We had three viewings immediately on the first weekend."
"A picture is worth a thousand words. Fotoestate's photos practically sell our properties by themselves."
"The choice of perspective is outstanding. You can tell that professionals with an understanding of architecture are at work."
"Fast, punctual, and very high image quality. Exactly what we need for our rental exposés."
"We work exclusively with Fotoestate. The lighting is perfect every single time."
"Our click rates on portals have noticeably increased since we started working with Fotoestate."
"Thanks for the great photos! We had three viewings immediately on the first weekend."
"A picture is worth a thousand words. Fotoestate's photos practically sell our properties by themselves."
"The choice of perspective is outstanding. You can tell that professionals with an understanding of architecture are at work."
"Fast, punctual, and very high image quality. Exactly what we need for our rental exposés."
Ready for the next marketing success?
Send us your pictures or floor plans. We will advise you free of charge on which visualizations will bring the highest return on investment for your property.