Consumers continue to flock to Westfield shopping centres around the country as owner Scentre Group pours in millions of dollars revamping sites in Sydney and Melbourne.

Scentre — which owns and operates 42 Westfields in Australia and New Zealand — drew 160 million customer visits from the start of 2026 to April 19, 4.9 million more than the same period in 2025.

Total business partner sales hit $7 billion in the three months to the end of March, up 5 per cent. All States and Territories, as well New Zealand, recorded growth, with WA leading the way at 7.4 per cent.

“Our strategy to grow the economic activity that occurs at each of our destinations continues to deliver, with customer visitation growing across all regions,” Scentre chief executive Elliott Rusanow told the company’s annual general meeting on Wednesday.

In 2025, it completed the expansion of Westfield Sydney in Pitt Street Mall, featuring a two-storey Chanel boutique, as well as Italian luxury fashion brand Moncler and watchmaker Omega.

Mr Rusanow said the $48m redevelopment of Westfield Burwood, located in Sydney’s inner west, also welcomed brands Aldi, JB Hi-Fi, Nike and Rebel, underpinning visitation growth of 9.3 per cent in 2025.

Meanwhile, the revamp of Westfield Southland in Melbourne — in which Scentre poured in $36m — delivered a new family, dining and entertainment precinct, driving visitation growth of 6.5 per cent in 2025.

“Creating more reasons for people to spend time with us continues to unlock value for our business partners,” Mr Rusanow said.

“The more customers that visit our destinations, the more our business partners can connect and transact with those customers, efficiently and at scale.”

Scentre said demand for space in Westfield sites continued to be strong, with portfolio occupancy of 99.8 per cent as of March 31, up 20 basis points since a year ago.

Mr Rusanow said it had also taken the opportunity to strategically downsize department store chain David Jones at three destinations “to introduce in-demand and highly productive stores”.

It comes as department stores globally have been under pressure from online shopping and independent boutiques.

Earlier this year, Scentre kicked off a $240m redevelopment of Westfield Bondi’s upper level following the revamp of level one.

“Our vision is to expand the uses and experiences we offer at Westfield Bondi to further its position as the premium asset in Sydney,” Mr Rusanow said on Wednesday.

On his outlook, Mr Rusanow acknowledged the current geopolitical volatility, its impact on the broader economy and, in particular, the potential impact on the consumer.

“The group continues to closely monitor any impact this may have on our business and outlook for 2026,” he said.

Scentre did not provide an update on the stalled $790m revamp of Booragoon in WA, which is set to add 72,500sqm of shopping space, a new entertainment and dining precinct, and nearly double its number of stores to 370.

Last year, Scentre was granted an extension to begin Booragoon’s construction, pushing the deadline to February 2029.