While many experience factors are now accepted baseline requirements, such as environmental performance or quality of design, others are shifting or evolving in response to wider economic or social factors. In 2025, eight priority areas have been identified that reflect underlying sentiment in experience expectations globally. These highlight opportunities for real estate developers, investors and occupiers to prioritize interventions or investment targeted at increased footfall, talent attraction or consumer spend. 

A nuanced understanding of technology is emerging from end-users, while eco-consciousness is a growing driver in emerging economies and younger generations. Personalization has become increasingly common in products and retail in recent years, and that is now translating into broader expectations on real estate as consumers prioritize places that are lifestyle focused (wellness, eco-brands, etc.), provide choice and flexibility and reflect local culture and identity.

Consumers increasingly view spaces as extensions of their personal identity, values and aspirations, and this is driving personalization trends. Driven by shifting expectations across demographics, younger and mid-aged generations are curating lifestyles that reflect values around family, ethics and community contribution rather than simply buying products. 

As personalization has become increasingly common in products and retail in recent years, this is now seen in broader expectations in places and spaces. 69% choose places that align to their personal values over convenience or price and 74% like to visit brands that recognize them as a customer and personalize their products or experience. Technology is pivotal in enabling more personalized interactions with spaces, and AI solutions present opportunities for developers and occupiers as 63% of people report that AI in entertainment venues will enhance personalization and enjoyment in the future.

Health and wellness are top priorities for people, increasingly driving consumer decisions on where to live and visit, with direct impact on requirements for ‘destination spaces’ in cities, neighborhoods and workplaces. With 71% of respondents agreeing it's important to live in a healthy city and 68% ranking health & wellness as an important factor that influences their choice of place for different activities, wellness trends continue to reshape real estate. 

Reflecting wider trends in the wellness consumer sector, younger generations are more health conscious are driving this, with 76% of those aged 25-34 years prioritizing healthy cities and 71% ranking health and wellness the top factors for the places they visit. 

Developers and occupiers should focused on integrating features that support physical health, mental wellbeing and social health in building design and placemaking. 68% agree that health and wellness is extremely or very important in choosing where they visit for leisure and entertainment, and 64% agree it is extremely or very important for retail amenities. In addition to the inclusion of health-focussed brands, developments should consider careful choices of material finishes and greenery, active design principles – encouraging movement through design features – and community spaces for enhancing social engagement.

In workplaces, health and wellbeing requires more holistic approaches that consider not just wellness amenities in offices but designing for lower stress environments and enhance social interaction. Recent JLL research shows that mental wellness and burnout risk are top concerns for employees worldwide in 2025; 77% of full-time workers surveyed in this research think green spaces near their workplace improves wellbeing. Considering the wider impacts of workplace design wellbeing alongside locational and amenity factors is required for occupiers to meet the expectations and needs of employees.

Contact JLL Consulting Services today.