While global economic conditions and geopolitical developments continue to shape investor sentiment, recent indicators point to renewed momentum in Ireland’s retail sector, supported by improving economic fundamentals and a gradual return of investment activity.
According to CBRE Group Ireland’s 2026 Outlook, overall investment volumes could rise towards €3bn–€4bn, alongside projected Modified Domestic Demand growth of around 3%. At the same time, retail occupancy has recovered, with national levels now above 95%, signalling resilience across the sector.
While large headline transactions often attract the most attention, an interesting trend is emerging across the market, with investors increasingly turning their attention to established, regional retail schemes that already demonstrate strong occupancy and local relevance.
For investors, these assets offer opportunities for targeted capital investment and an active asset management approach which is focused on improving customer experience, strengthening tenant mix, and supporting long-term durability.
The Shift Towards Experience
Consumer expectations are reshaping how physical retail environments operate. Recent analysis from Savills suggests that food & beverage and leisure concepts now account for roughly 20% of new retail openings, reflecting a broader shift in how consumers interact with retail spaces.
Retail centres are evolving beyond purely transactional environments and instead, becoming places where people spend time – meeting friends, dining, accessing services, or engaging with their local community.
As a result, tenant mixes are gradually shifting toward service-led and experience-driven offerings that encourage longer dwell times. Hospitality, leisure, health, and service businesses are becoming anchor offerings, alongside traditional retail staples. For investors and operators, this raises several strategic considerations:
- How should tenant mixes evolve to reflect changing consumer expectations
- What role does placemaking play in sustaining footfall and local relevance
- How can capital investment support retail environments that create reasons to stay, not just reasons to buy?
Blackpool Shopping Centre
These dynamics can be seen in practice across a number of established retail locations. One example is Blackpool Shopping Centre and Retail Park in Cork, an asset within the Lugus portfolio.
Serving a large suburban catchment area on the north side of the city, Blackpool Shopping Centre provides an important retail and service destination for the surrounding community.
As part of our long-term asset management strategy, Lugus is delivering a €1.5 million investment programme at the centre, including a full re-tiling of the mall, enhanced shop fronts and new lighting which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2026. Phase One of the programme has been completed, with Phase Two currently underway with completion expected in early Q3 2026.
The investment focuses on modernisation and improvements to the customer environment, supporting the centre’s continued role within its local catchment. While modest in scale relative to large redevelopment projects, initiatives of this type highlight where targeted investment in established retail schemes can enhance perception, improve customer experience, and support long-term performance.
Infrastructure and Catchment Growth
Retail performance is also shaped by accessibility and connectivity and infrastructure upgrades significantly influence the movement of consumers around a city and the retail destinations they access most easily.
In Cork, two major initiatives illustrate this dynamic, and played a part in the strategic decision to invest in Blackpool SC:
- Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme Phase Two, which includes a proposed Blackpool/Kilbarry station currently prioritised for planning
- BusConnects Cork, which will enhance bus corridors and improve public transport connectivity across the city.
As these projects progress, improved connectivity will expand catchment areas for existing retail locations and make them more accessible to a wider population.
For retail investors, infrastructure investment can therefore play an important role in strengthening the long-term fundamentals of established schemes.
What This Means for Investors
Looking ahead, several themes appear likely to shape retail investment strategies across Ireland.
Firstly, proven retail schemes with strong occupancy and established local catchments continue to demonstrate a strong value proposition for investors in an evolving retail landscape.
Secondly, the growing emphasis on experience-led retail environments means that the quality of the physical environment and tenant mix is becoming ever more important to maintaining the long-term resiliency.
Finally, active asset management and local knowledge of planned infrastructure developments will remain key differentiators in identifying opportunities where targeted investment will strengthen both customer experience and income durability.
As the sector continues to evolve, investors will increasingly focus on how these dynamics intersect, from experiential retail and placemaking to infrastructure-led catchment growth.