Guests walking through a McArthurGlen designer outlet destination

McArthurGlen Group

Destination Outlet

Why experience is the new currency of designer outlet retail.

Today's consumers are more intentional about where they spend their time and money. This report explores how premium value, open-air leisure, brand discovery and destination thinking are reshaping the outlet model.

Converse with the report Read the signals

Executive Perspective

The outlet is no longer a transaction point. It is a chosen destination.

Designer outlets are becoming places where value and emotion work together. Consumers still care about the discount, but the report shows that the environment, time spent with others, discovery and hospitality now carry strategic weight.

The strongest opportunity is editorial in nature: curate the day, not just the deal. Make the visit feel intentional, easy to share and worth extending.

Consumer Signals

Four figures that reframe the category.

63.5%

shop for the best deals more than before

Outlet retail is benefiting from a sharper consumer value mindset.

81.1%

connect visits with food, leisure and social time

The experience is broadening beyond product discovery alone.

67.1%

see outlets helping brands reduce waste

Surplus and past-season stock can become a visible sustainability role.

54.4%

would visit more often as outlets evolve

Leisure, dining, services and wellbeing create future frequency.

Experience Architecture

A new luxury outlet grammar: spacious, social, useful, discoverable.

Luxury storefronts and open-air plaza at Serravalle Designer Outlet

Value becomes a feeling.

Savvy shopping is increasingly aspirational. The report points to a customer who wants both the satisfaction of a smart purchase and the pleasure of a premium day out.

The visit stretches.

Food, outdoor spaces, rest areas and events move the outlet from a planned errand to a flexible leisure destination.

Editorial fashion imagery at a premium outlet walkway

Outdoor seating and public realm at a McArthurGlen destination

Discovery lowers risk.

In-person trial, brand adjacency and discounts create a lower-friction path to new labels, with the potential to influence future full-price behaviour.

Designer outlet retail now competes for attention as much as spend.

That means the winning destinations will think like editors: balancing rhythm, setting, utility and surprise across the full customer journey.

Interactive Report

Converse with the data.

Ask about spending, dwell time, country differences, sustainability, leisure behaviours or the future destination offer. The assistant answers from the indexed report material and returns source references where available.