2026 LFRA Overseas Study Tour highlights the scale behind experience led retail
The 2026 LFRA overseas Study Tour to Denver and Phoenix has highlighted the scale, diversity and evolution of the United States retail market, with the itinerary covering more than 35 destinations over seven days. The tour also brought together a mix of experienced and first-time participants, with 12 attendees having been on an overseas study tour previously, while for 12 attendees it was their first such tour.
The tour was weighted slightly towards Denver, where for many tour participants, NBA basketball, major league baseball and/or NHL ice hockey unexpectedly appeared on the extracurricular agenda.
A key theme of the tour was the continued shift away from traditional enclosed malls towards open-air lifestyle centres, mixed-use precincts and experience-led retail. The largest centres visited were in Phoenix comprising:
- Scottsdale Fashion Square – 190,000 m² (Arizona’s largest mall)
- Desert Ridge Marketplace – 120,000 m²
- The Pavilions at Talking Stick – 120,000 m²
- SanTan Village – 110,000 m²
The largest centre visited in Denver was The Orchard Town Centre at around 100,000 m².
The strongest retail formats were those combining scale with entertainment, hospitality or destination appeal. Outdoor and sporting goods were particularly prominent, including:
- Scheels – 22,000 m²
- Bass Pro Shops – 16,700 m²
- Dick’s House of Sport – 9,300 m²
- Cabela’s – 9,000 m².
Several of these stores blended traditional retail with immersive features such as aquariums, wildlife displays, ferris wheels, golf and baseball areas, and event programming.
Other prominent individual stores included a 20,000 m² Walmart Supercentre, an 18,000 m² Living Spaces furniture store, a 16,500 m² Lowes Hardware and a 12,500 m² Sam’s Club.
The REI Flagship in Denver, at 7,700 m², demonstrated how heritage buildings can be repurposed into iconic retail destinations, supported by experiential elements such as an indoor climbing wall and an outdoor cycling track.
Market presentations reinforced a mixed but active US retail environment. CBRE noted that ecommerce has plateaued at around 16% of total retail sales, while vacancy rates remain historically low, particularly in power centres. FTI Consulting identified strong expansion among selected retailers, with leading growth brands expected to add more than 1,280 stores collectively in 2026 comprising:
- Dollar General (+450 stores)
- Dutch Bros (+181)
- ALDI (+180)
- 7-Eleven (+175)
- Five Below (+150) and
- TJX Companies (+146).
The numbers point to a retail market where physical stores remain highly relevant, but success is increasingly tied to scale, experience, convenience and mixed-use integration. For LFRA members, the key lesson is not simply that US retail is larger, but that Large Format Retail is continuing to evolve as part of broader destination-led environments. The strongest examples demonstrated how retail can remain highly relevant when it acts as a destination, not just a transaction point, with leisure, food, fitness and entertainment as anchors for customer visitation.
Martin Hogarth is Senior Associate with Deep End Services
*Photo of Dicks’ House of Sport outdoor turf field is courtesy of Phil Schoutrop, Principal and Sector Lead for Precincts at Buchan
