A phenomenon called retail therapy is driving foot traffic to record levels among SM malls throughout the country hitting the

4 million mark recently.

The experience as termed by business analysts involves shopping to improve mood or avoid difficult emotions.

SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPH), the company that oversees the malls, has benefited from a surge in the retail business that posted a 16 percent growth in the second quarter to P11.6 billion.

Revenues also rose by eight percent from a year ago to P34 billion amid the improved performance across all segments.

For last year, Regina Capital Development Corp. (RCDC) expects a 27 percent jump in net income to P51 billion.

The uptrend is driven by its booming mall leasing business and improving prospects in the residential game, according to RCDC.

SM Prime is looking at opening three new malls next year.

Steven Tan, president of its mall operations unit said the planned openings in Laoag, La Union, and Zamboanga aim to sustain the company’s positive momentum.

“We have three malls opening for sure next year. That would be Laoag, La Union and Zamboanga. Zamboanga will be our second mall in the area,” Tan said.

Renovations also in pipeline

“This time, it’s a much bigger development. The first one, SM Mindoro, was a smaller mall that we renovated. This new mall in Zamboanga is built from the ground up, making it a significant project.”

Apart from new developments, SM Prime is also heavily investing in renovations and redevelopments across its existing properties.

Key projects include the completion of the Sky Park at Mall of Asia, featuring a FIFA-sized football field set to launch early next year, as well as ongoing upgrades at SM Megamall and SM Aura.

“Mall of Asia is already at the tail end [of redevelopment], and we will be launching the Sky Park. Megamall is being redeveloped with a garden on top, and Aura’s beautiful new food hall is already open,” Tan detailed.

He added that other projects, such as the redevelopment of SM City Clark, are part of the company’s extensive plans.

“It’s more than 10 projects next year just on renovation and redevelopment.”

According to Tan, SM Supermalls saw a robust performance in the fourth quarter, with November marking record-breaking foot traffic across its network.

“November has never been this good,” he said. “Maybe it’s because of blockbuster events like Wicked, Moana, or even Hello Love Again. The malls are full of people.”

SM Prime reported a consolidated net income of P33.9 billion from January to September, reflecting a 12 percent increase from P30.1 billion a year ago.

The mall business, which accounted for 57 percent of the company’s total consolidated revenues, generated P56.5 billion in total revenues in the first nine months, mirroring an 8 percent increase from the same period last year.

Mall rental income grew by 8 percent to P48.5 billion, while cinemas, event ticket sales, and other revenues rose by 4 percent to P8 billion.

Revenue growth centers mainly came from new additions like SM City Yangzhou and SM City Caloocan, which opened in the second half of 2023 and the first half of 2024, respectively.

On the residential side, the company’s second-largest revenue generator, there was a modest five percent rise to P11.1 billion in the second quarter.

Despite the gains, reservation sales took a hard hit, plummeting 58 percent to P13.7 billion for the quarter.

Still, even with reservations looking a bit gloomy now, the steady performance of mall leasing keeps earnings strong, and RCDC expressed hopes it will bounce back in the coming quarters as the Philippine central bank starts with its policy easing.