Shopping Centres Turn to Health and Leisure Activities to Boost Footfall Amid Decline
Shopping centres across the UK are increasingly incorporating health-related and sport-based activities such as zip wires, wild swimming, climbing, and darts to attract customers amid a decline in traditional retail footfall and rising vacancies.
This shift is driven by the closure of hundreds of department stores, with about 20% of former Debenhams sites remaining vacant four years after their closure and several House of Fraser stores still empty. Footfall in shopping centres fell by 0.9% in October, and only three of the past 12 months have shown growth.
Examples of the trend include Toca Social hosting football-focused experiences in three malls, and Five Iron signing a deal to open its first UK site at London's Broadgate. Zip World and Go Ape are reportedly in talks to introduce experiences in shopping centres.
The Wimbledon Quarter (Centre Court site) is being reinvented with a gym and a golf-themed venue called The Golf Groove. Cardiff's Queens Arcade is transforming into a leisure mall featuring padel courts and interactive exhibitions.
LandSec’s Bluewater in Kent is expanding its leisure mix, considering additions such as an outdoor events arena, padel courts, and possibly rollercoasters, with a wellness focus as part of its strategy.
Westfield’s leisure provision has grown by approximately 39% since 2022, adding new experiences like Activate, a tech-enabled gaming venue, and the Wake the Tiger art installations.
Industry executives attribute this shift towards experience-based offerings to rising demand for social, interactive, and wellness-oriented activities, especially among Gen Z and millennials who prioritize self-improvement and shared moments in their leisure pursuits.
