How OnBrand Helps You Lead the Way
2026 is shaping up to be one of the most transformational years yet for UK shopping centres. With evolving consumer expectations, economic pressures, and the ongoing rise of digital-first behaviours, the places people visit need to be more than just destinations for shopping – they must deliver meaningful experiences, relevance, and value.
Across the OnBrand team, we’re constantly tracking how Shopping Centre and Destination Marketing is changing. Here are the top five trends every centre should be thinking about – what they mean in practice – and how OnBrand helps your brand stay ahead of the curve.
1. Experience-Led Destinations Drive Footfall
The days of centre visits being primarily transactional are behind us. Today’s centres are broadening their appeal with immersive leisure, social and lifestyle offerings that digital retail simply can’t replicate. From pop-up arcades and wellness spaces to family activities, these experiences are helping destinations become places to be – not just places to buy.
Why it matters: Experience centres increase dwell time and repeat visitation – crucial drivers of long-term commercial success.
How OnBrand helps:
Our event-based campaigns and destination marketing strategies are designed around experience storytelling – helping centres promote attractions, partnerships and special activations that genuinely move the needle on footfall and engagement.
2. Digital & Personalised Engagement Becomes Standard
Shoppers now expect seamless digital interactions across their physical visits — think personalised offers, dynamic navigation, and contextual communications via apps, QR and social channels. Centres harnessing data to create tailored journeys win loyalty.
Why it matters: Personalisation turns casual browsers into engaged visitors and repeat audiences.
How OnBrand helps:
Through data-driven digital marketing, bespoke content and geo-targeted social campaigns, we craft communications that feel relevant, timely and genuinely useful — not generic noise.
3. Social Discovery & Influencer Amplification
The fusion of social media and commerce continues to deepen. Platforms like TikTok are evolving into powerful retail channels, and influencers are bridging online buzz with real-world visits.
Why it matters: Social discovery is now a primary traffic driver — and if shopping centres aren’t part of that conversation, they risk being overlooked by younger audiences.
How OnBrand helps:
We build social-first campaigns that celebrate your destination’s personality and mobilise real advocates — from local creators to loyal visitors — turning digital buzz into physical visits.
4. Sustainability & Community Connection
Consumers care about values. Shopping centres are responding by embracing sustainability, championing local partnerships, and crafting community-centric campaigns. This goes beyond token gestures — it’s about authenticity and trust.
Why it matters: Centres that reflect their communities’ values attract deeper loyalty and better commercial outcomes.
How OnBrand helps:
We advise on value-aligned storytelling and marketing strategies that put sustainability at the centre of your brand voice — resonating with locals and strengthening long-term relevance. We also have an in-depth understanding of how Asset Managers such as Savills, Knight Frank and CBRE are focused on ESG ratings, something our strategies keep front of mind, always.
5. Seamless Omni-Channel Experiences Unite Digital + Physical: Phygital
Marketing in 2026 is no longer split between “online” and “offline”. Instead, great centres integrate both: digital content and physical journeys work together to guide visits, inspire browsing and simplify decision-making. This new process is known as ‘Phygital Marketing’.
Why it matters: A connected experience boosts satisfaction, spend, and loyalty — reducing friction at every touchpoint.
How OnBrand helps:
From content strategy and SEO to integrated campaigns and experiential calendars, we help your destination tell a cohesive story across every channel — digital and on site.
