Malls foot traffic slower in 2025
SM Supermalls, the retail arm of SM Prime Holdings Inc., logged about 1.4 billion total visits in 2025, a notable decline from the record-breaking visits a year earlier.
SM Supermalls recorded a whopping 1.9 billion visitors in 2024, or 5.2 million daily visitors.
The pullback in traffic came amid broader economic and weather headwinds that affected consumer mobility and spending patterns, even as Filipinos continued to frequent malls nationwide. Recall that Philippine economic growth slowed down to 4.4 percent in 2025—the slowest pace since 2011, excluding the peak pandemic years.
Sy family-led SM Prime Holdings, operator of SM malls, saw mall traffic peaking in December, the busiest retail period, reaching 153 million visits for the month.
Daily visits during the Christmas season averaged 5.5 million on weekends and 4.6 million on weekdays, underscoring strong holiday spending and sustained shopper engagement.
SM Supermalls president Steven Tan says the company’s performance reflects its continued efforts to evolve its malls in response to changing consumer preferences.
“With our customer as our North Star, we are evolving all for them, transforming their most-loved SM Supermalls not just to respond to needs, but to proactively anticipate them,” Tan says.
Mall traffic was supported by experiential events and large-scale campaigns, including the return of the Pyro-Musical Competition, Cyberzone gaming tournaments and themed activations featuring global brands, such as Pokémon and One Piece.
SM Active Hub, which introduced pickleball courts and running hubs across its network, attracted over 100,000 registered participants.
Meanwhile, corporate social responsibility programs under SM Cares, including community walks, coastal cleanups and youth activities, generated close to 400,000 combined visits.
To sustain growth, SM Supermalls is rolling out a long-term expansion plan that includes opening one new flagship mall annually until 2030, alongside major redevelopment projects across its existing network of 89 malls nationwide.
In 2025, the company introduced new attractions such as MOA Sky and ScreenX, both first-of-their-kind concepts in the Philippines, and expanded its lifestyle offerings with the SM Active Hub sports facilities. It also strengthened its retail mix by bringing in new international brands, including Chatterbox Cafe, Funko, JD, Laderach and Vivaia.
SM Prime says mall traffic is expected to remain strong in 2026, supported by upcoming destination concepts, such as Southeast Asia’s first Adidas Football Park and the first permanent Pop Mart store in the Philippines.
