Landsec’s prime shopping destinations had a shining Golden Quarter in terms of both sales and footfall with health & beauty (+13%) and clothing (+5%) sales becoming “the strongest-performing categories” across its major retail destinations.

The key quarter, which includes Christmas trading, “maintained healthy consumer demand, exceeding last year’s impressive figures and pulling further ahead of market averages”, the commercial property giant said in a trading statement Monday (19 January).

With Liverpool One and Bluewater in Kent among its portfolio of key shopping/entertainment destinations, total Golden Quarter sales rose 4.9% year-on-year, “significantly outperforming the national retail benchmark”, which it notes fell by 0.2%. And during the three peak Christmas shopping weeks, sales were up 6.5% year-on-year, it added.

Footfall across Landsec’s major shopping centres and outlets also rose by 0.7% over the quarter, compared with the national benchmark of -0.3% across the wider market, “supported by strong seasonal momentum”.

Since FY22, its retail destinations have also seen cumulative sales growth of 20%, outperforming the UK national average by 17ppt, it also noted.

Performance-wise, health & beauty’s particularly strong showing was helped by four out of the six new Sephora stores opened in the UK over the past 12 months having been at Landsec destinations, it added.

And let’s not forget the rising importance of leisure and hospitality, with both also playing key roles in consumer engagement, seeing a 6.2% growth in sales.

“This category also played a key role in increasing dwell times across Landsec’s centres, reinforcing the importance of [our] experience-led strategy in supporting retail spend and repeat visits”, it noted.

Bruce Findlay, managing director of Retail at Landsec, added: “Consumers continue to seek out destinations which combine a wide selection of the best brands with best in class experiences. This was certainly true during the Golden Quarter with sales and footfall for prime retail once again ahead of the wider market.

“With a reach of one in four UK consumers, we offer brands more footfall than any other retail platform. By combining this reach with the powerful data insights available to us, we’re creating a self-reinforcing growth engine that delivers higher sales and attracts the world’s best brands.”

He added: “Alongside a strong leisure and hospitality offer, we provide compelling, experience-led retail environments, positioning us well for continued success as we look ahead to 2026.”