Not just ‘power shopping’: How Tanger’s outlet malls are evolving beyond the discount model

“It’s not just a power shopping experience anymore,” said Tanger’s evp of leasing, Justin Stein. “People come and they spend hours and half days with their family, and that’s how we’ve evolved. It’s not just come and shop and leave.”

Founded in 1981 as the nation’s first outlet mall, Tanger continued to expand nationwide throughout the 1990s and early 2000s with big presence from brands like Gap, Banana Republic and Polo Ralph Lauren. Today, it has 40 properties across the United States. CEO Stephen Yalof took over in 2020, and since then, the company has looked to reposition itself as more than just a place for discount shopping. While most of its properties are still outlet centers, it also operates three open-air lifestyle centers. In February, it spent $167 million to acquire Pinecrest by Tanger in Cleveland, a 640,000-square-foot open-air, grocery-anchored, mixed-use center. Its other open-air centers are in Huntsville, Alabama and Little Rock, Arkansas.

Tanger’s pitch is indicative of how the lines between different types of shopping centers have blurred. It doesn’t want shoppers to think of its properties just as outlet malls, but rather, as lifestyle centers. They’re not just a place to shop from Nike’s Factory Store, but also from Ulta Beauty. And, they are not just places to visit during big shopping periods like Black Friday or back-to-school season, but also to grab a beer or play Pickleball after work.

A broader brand assortment has been key to Tanger’s quest to make outlet centers more than just a place for deep discounts. In April, it added the first-ever Birkenstock outlet to its Deer Park Center. Tanger also added a handful of full-priced Sephora stores in places like Charleston, South Carolina and Glendale, Arizona. And the company has added more dining and experiences to its centers to keep people there longer. As it seeks to grow its footprint, it is focusing on open-air retail shopping centers anchored by big-box, grocery or entertainment.

As of its latest earnings report in May, Tanger’s centers are about 96% leased out with around 700 brands among its 40 centers. It also showed revenues of $135 million, up from $123 million the year prior. Tanger is also commanding higher rents, taking in about $5.4 million more in rent during the quarter thanks to “obtaining higher rents from new and existing tenants during the last twelve months and strengthening our tenant mix,” the report said.

But overall, Tanger is operating in an environment where getting people to shop in person for long stretches of time is more challenging than it once was. Placer.ai data shows that, for the first half of 2025, the number of visits to outlet malls dropped by 0.8% compared to last year, though average visit duration was up 1.9%. But visits are down 10.2% compared to the first half of 2019, and average duration was down 6.9%. Open-air shopping centers, by contrast, have met or exceeded pre-pandemic levels over the past two years.

Lisa Wagner, principal at asset management consultancy The Outlet Resource Group, said part of why Tanger has succeeded at reshaping the outlet experience is because it has shifted its portfolio from out-of-town outlet centers to more modern, accessible spaces. She said there has also been a stronger curation of tenants that adds diversity and relevance to the shopping experience. “There’s always been a preciousness in the outlet industry about the strict definition of what qualifies as an outlet,” she said. “But the consumer doesn’t care. They just want what they want, where they want it.”

A localized, diverse assortment

When it comes to what’s filling its centers, Tanger has a team of three to four people who exclusively focus on tenants beyond traditional retail. Stein said that includes quick service restaurants and activity-style experiences like Dave and Buster’s, gyms, virtual reality setups and even pickleball courts. Tanger Nashville, for instance, has a community space with outdoor murals and a big-screen TV for Tennessee Titans games and other sports viewing. There’s also a Shake Shack, Prince’s Hot Chicken and Crumbl Cookie.

Stein said the leasing team also pays attention to local demographics, as well as the specific location. Some are exurban centers that still lean more toward “power shopping.” Others may be nestled closer to a place where people are commuting and stopping for everyday needs. That’s partly why Tanger has added companies like Sephora and Ulta, which traditionally have not been in outlets and have set up full-price stores that draw foot traffic.

“Certain centers are about power shopping and certain centers are about the community, and we pay very close attention to how each market sits, and that’s how we lease,” Stein said. “We’re creating this diverse mix with brands that historically haven’t been in the outlet channel because people are shopping our centers every day instead of shopping us once or twice a year.”

Wagner from TORC said this is a different approach in the industry; outlets have historically been cookie-cutter and corporate-feeling centers. That old model also rarely had food and beverage. But, she said, the successful outlets in 2025 are those that have found ways to reflect the local market best. “At some centers, they are the primary retail opportunity in that market. So they look at the mix and shape it so the community feels like it’s theirs,” she said.

Dining, she said, is one way to do that. “You can bring in local operators and specialty items, and that immediately starts to make the place feel more local,” she said. “But it’s a fine line. You want all the best things from national players, but locally customized.”

Betting on brands

Stein said it’s still top of mind to bring in trendy brands. Outlet shoppers, he said, are often people who are brand-conscious, but want to get the best brands at the best price. In turn, brands cater to the local demand with their merchandising assortment. A Columbia sportswear store in North Carolina, for instance, will sell different hiking gear than in New Hampshire.

But Tanger also uses local income and net migration as data points to figure out which brands make sense where.

“If we feel that a certain market is extremely price-conscious, we may be more mindful about putting full-price operators or brands into that center,” he said. “If we feel the demographic and shopper won’t be averse to higher price points, we’ll sprinkle that in.”

Sometimes, getting legacy brands to join the outlet requires a strong pitch that the outlet won’t edge out full-price sales. Stein said the company helped land Birkenstock in its portfolio using its online order and wholesale distribution data to see where it could grow. “We overlaid that with our analytics, and it led us to identify two or three ideal locations where their outlet stores wouldn’t cannibalize other sales,” he said. The first locations were Glendale, Arizona and Sevierville, Tennessee — “completely different markets, but both successful” — followed by Deer Park, Long Island, Stein said.

“Now they want to do more business with us because they know we’re not just throwing them into any old center. There’s a methodology and a strategy behind it,” Stein said.

This also applies to how Tanger is continuing to renew leases and command higher rents from tenants. While a delicate balance, Stein said the investment that Tanger makes in its centers helps sell tenants on future growth. “As we reinvest in our portfolio, tenants are doing the same,” he said.

Tanger’s future growth

Tanger isn’t averse to trimming its own portfolio, having sold its Howell, Michigan center in February for $17 million.

With ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, it’s unlikely Tanger would dive into any new builds anytime soon. But Stein said the company is looking at potential acquisitions “every day” across the country. It’s specifically looking for places that are somewhat distressed or could use a renovation and revamp that meets the community-minded, open-air trend it’s continuing to develop.

“If a center is already 100% leased with no expirations for the next 10 years, that’s probably not for us,” he said. “We know the value we bring by putting the Tanger flag on a center.”