Almost one-third of all visitors to shopping centres go there just to eat and drink.
The latest Food and Beverage report by CBRE surveyed 22,000 customers across 22 markets in Europe, South Africa and the Middle East.
The results showed that 59% of shoppers in the UAE, 57% in South Africa, 52% in Turkey, 51% in Poland and 42% in Spain visit a shopping centre just to eat or drink.
Even if their main reason for visiting a centre was to eat and drink, an average of 40% of people then go on to shop.
Peter Gold, head of EMEA cross-border retail at CBRE said: “We know that a shopping centre is more than the sum of its parts: it is about the overall proposition. With shopping centres competing for shopper attention, F&B is increasingly important as a footfall and revenue driver.”
Andrew Phipps, head of retail research and consulting, CBRE EMEA, said: “In the Middle East and Turkey, a visit to a mall is seen as an important leisure activity as well as a time-efficient way to shop.”
