Comment: How intentional shopping is driving stronger results in retail environments
By Saagar Schadev, director, in Savills’ West End shopping centre and property management team
It is widely accepted that UK consumers are shopping differently. Visits are less frequent and decisions are more considered as value plays a greater role in where people choose to spend their time and money. What is less clear is how these changes in shopping behaviour are driving stronger results in some retail environments.
Across outlet destinations a clear value paradox is emerging: fewer visits, but higher spend per visit. Top UK outlet centres consistently deliver between £80 and £186 per person according to Savills Insights, compared with £45 to £101 at traditional shopping centres, reflecting a more intentional type of shopping behaviour.
Visitor spending
On average, international shoppers spend around £297 per visit at outlet centres, more than three times the spend recorded at full price centres. This highlights an outlet’s ability to attract and monetise inbound tourism effectively, while complementing rather than competing with full price retail.
Domestic shoppers tell a similar story. UK consumers spend an average of £20 more per visit at outlets compared to shopping centres, reinforcing that outlets are not purely reliant on tourism or occasional splurges. These visits tend to be less frequent but more deliberate, and outlets typically achieve average transaction values around 25% higher than traditional shopping centres or retail parks, demonstrating the value driven consumer appeal of these destinations.
Interpreting the data
Questions are often raised as to whether outlet performance is skewed by standout destinations such as Bicester Village. However, the data suggests this is not the case.
In 2025, average spend per person across outlet centres was £67. Excluding Bicester Village, this figure remains robust at £61. This reliability is underpinned by strong turnover visibility across the sector supported by fast, accurate billing and consistent reporting, which gives both landlords and occupiers confidence that performance metrics reflect genuine trading patterns rather than exceptional outliers.
Set against an average spend of £65, across all retail locations (including Central London), outlet performance competes with the wider retail landscape.
Occupier impact
From an occupier perspective, this environment creates a different trading dynamic. A core strength of the outlet model is genuinely flexible, turnover-linked leasing structure, which aligns landlord and occupier priorities and enables faster decision making rooted in real trading performance. This aligns landlord and tenant interests around trading performance rather than simply occupancy, encouraging collaboration, transparency, and shared problem solving.
The sector’s structural characteristics also support long term stability. The UK outlet market remains a relatively scarce asset class, creating a stable platform for brands seeking controlled distribution and predictable performance.
Property manager implications
A property manager’s role has evolved alongside these trends. Supporting occupiers today goes beyond footfall reporting or lease administration. Embedded centre teams with day‑to‑day visibility of trading patterns, operational pressures and product flows are able to understand occupiers’ businesses more intimately. It enables a deeper insight into trading patterns, tailored turnover reporting and site teams with hands on retail experience, allowing proactive, partnership led management. By embedding this expertise within centre management and focusing on performance-led KPIs, environments where occupiers can trade confidently and sustainably are created.
The value paradox is not about one retail format outperforming another. It is about recognising how consumer intent is changing and ensuring that assets, leases and management approaches evolve in step with that reality.
Cover image: Victoria Gate Shopping Centre / Alastair Wallace / Shutterstock