Cribbs Mall's evolving fashion mix boosts young shoppers

Cribbs Mall, the largest indoor shopping centre in the South West of England, located north of Bristol, has reported a 13 percent increase in GenZ visitors, after evolving its fashion offering to include Mango, H&M, and River Island, alongside recent arrivals AllSaints and Animal.

In a statement, the retail and leisure destination said that GenZ, which represents the demographic cohort that follows Millennials and precedes Generation Alpha, is becoming its fastest-growing demographic, and that 36 percent of total spend this year has come from young shoppers, outperforming the regional mall average of 30 percent.

As well as the new arrivals, the increase is also being attributed to many of the Cribbs’ leading fashion and beauty brands investing in new shop fits, with Marks and Spencer, Boots, Superdrug, River Island, and H&M creating flagship stores which act as showrooms, helping to draw in shoppers of all ages.

The shopping centre has also become a hub for brands testing new store concepts and product ranges, with John Lewis selecting its Cribbs department store to host one of its pop-up concepts to relaunch Topshop.

During 2025, Cribbs reported over 20,000 square feet of leasing activity, including new lettings, lease renewals, upsizes, and refits, taking the asset to 99 percent let.

Iain Minto, senior director, asset management at Sovereign Centros by CBRE, said: “Retailers are queuing to join our exceptional line-up to benefit from that extensive shopper base, which includes a rapidly growing GenZ audience. Unprecedented residential development is underway in the north Bristol area, creating new homes for thousands of families and professionals mere minutes’ walk from Cribbs. This will help to catapult spend potential here by almost 60 million pounds, offering a unique opportunity for operators not only to showcase their brand story to millions, but also to deliver all-important sales volume.

“This explains why, for many of our brands, Cribbs is consistently the best performing store across their UK portfolios, and why so many retailers choose Cribbs as for their flagship location. From M&S’ investment in their flagship South West store at Cribbs last year through to the new arrivals we welcomed this year, including AllSaints, Animal, and the new Topshop pop-up.”