Widespread reports of outlet centre success rates continue with London’s O2 joining the party, publishing strong first half gains.

The combined Entertainment District and Outlet Shopping mall posted a 10% sales rise and a 15.5% uplift in footfall across the January-June period, beating 2023’s record H1 results.

Sales for Outlet Shopping at The O2 umped 15% alone. A further boost for its retail arm was its “significant levels” of leasing activity, bolstered by the recent arrivals of disruptor sportswear brand Castore, fashion retailer All Good Things and footwear brand Soletrader.

Standout categories included sportswear exceeding year-to-date growth of 33% with the recent arrivals of Castore and Under Armour, and anchor brands Nike and Adidas.

Beauty also achieved sales growth of 23%, strengthened by brands such as The Cosmetics Company Store, Jo Malone, Aatma Aesthetics, and Clarins.

Owners/operators AEG Europe and Crosstree Real Estate said the performance endorsed a recent report by The O2, working with CACI, on the emergence of ‘social spending’ at the destination, “a trend that is here to stay and will likely be seen in other locations as consumers increasingly focus their time and money on places that facilitate social interaction”.

They added: “The O2 has highlighted the importance of delivering a 360-degree offer for visitors, leading to significant cross-category spending. [It has] outperformed multiple UK benchmarks with this new socialisation behaviour driving incremental spend”.

Janine Constantin-Russell, Managing Director of the combined enterprises, said: “2024 has been a fantastic year so far. The destination is firmly established amongst Londoners and visitors to the capital alike, with the unique totality of our offer having huge appeal. This is not only leading to really strong and sustained performance across a range of key performance metrics, but is driving demand among brands too. They are recognising the importance of ‘social spending’.”

She added: “Looking ahead to the next six months, we will continue to evolve our offer, signing exciting new brands [and] adding even more engaging experiences.”