The closure of some fashion-focused stores post-pandemic (think Arcadia’s brand, for instance) had a big impact on the overall fashion offer at major malls. And while many are getting back on track with fashion, or adjusting their balance toward other categories, M&G Real Estate’s Cribbs Mall in Bristol has offered up evidence this week of just how important the super-category is to its footfall and sales.
Cribbs Mall
In an update designed to show how vibrant business is at Cribbs, it said the growing fashion offer at the centre has driven a 13% rise in GenZ visitors. That comes as the West Country retail destination has welcomed AllSaints and Animal to its line-up this year.
Of course, it’s not just about fashion as the mall has also evolved its F&B offering with the arrivals of Pizza Express and Honest Burger, both popular with Gen Z.
Overall, the new arrivals and investment by current occupiers have resulted in a 10% increase in footfall across all age groups and an 8% rise in sales, “surpassing industry benchmarks”.
Cribbs, which is managed by Sovereign Centros by CBRE, said 36% of total spend this year has come from young shoppers – outperforming the regional mall average of 30%.
As mentioned, Gen Z visitors are up 13% year on year in 2025, becoming its fastest growing demographic.
The Gen Z-friendly tenant line-up there includes Mango, H&M, and River Island and those recent arrivals AllSaints and Animal also score with this demographic, the latter selecting Cribbs for its first shopping centre destination.
Major names have also been investing in new shop fits, including M&S, Boots, Superdrug, River Island, and H&M creating flagship stores, “which act as showrooms, helping to draw in shoppers of all ages”.
The importance of the mall to the region is underlined by the fact that Topshop selected the John Lewis at Cribbs as one of only four destinations for its new pop-up concept.
And the expectation is that developments across the Cribbs Causeway area should drive the Gen Z shopper mix at the mall even higher.
It’s already the nearest major shopping destination for over 6.2 million people but the neighbouring Brabazon Development will boost that as it’s set to deliver 6,500 homes. Importantly as far as Gen Z is concerned, it will also deliver 2,000 student rooms and a 19,500-capacity arena, all within walking distance.
