Scentre Group, Westfield partners with businesses for growth as brands and retailers tap shopping’s experience boom – plus three spending megatrends with major Christmas implications.

Scentre Group’s Westfield destinations across Australia and New Zealand are seeing an increase of online pure-play retailers moving into retail and pop-up spaces as customer visitation grows. In the first half of this year, customer visitations increased to 314 million, that’s 9.8 per cent more than the same period in 2022.* Just don’t call them shopping centres. They are destinations, where people go to be entertained and Moore sees his competition not only rival retail destinations, but Netflix, theme parks or anywhere people choose to spend their time. Rebel Sport is tapping that rich vein: with a uniquely designed retail presence with direct access to the basketball court housed within Melbourne’s Westfield Knox, and Rebel’s sales are powering. Moore says brands – including e-com pure-players – are heading into Westfield destinations, with 450 new businesses incoming this year alone*. Plus, the 3.5m strong Westfield membership programme and overhauled analytics are delivering sharper intel. Don’t think spots, dots and audiences says Moore, think “need-states mindsets and customers”. And don’t think bricks versus clicks: “it’s just commerce”. Brands need to do both better – especially now: Latest research from insights firm Nature shows swathes of shoppers cutting back in at least one key category over the last 12 months. If they find cheaper brands that are just as good, that risks a cross-category snowball effect. Which means brands must work harder to keep them – but not with discounts, according to Nature’s Lizi Pritchard. As Christmas looms large, Pritchard unpacks three consumer spending megatrends that brands and retailers need to get across, fast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.