Shoppers, diners and other patrons shelled out more than $1.5 billion at Westfield Miranda and Hurstville over the last 12 months.
Despite a sluggish economy, total annual retail sales at the Miranda complex rose two per cent to $952.5 million.
Sales at the Hurstville centre increased 2.8 per cent to $560.4 million.
There are 447 retailers at Miranda and 255 at Hurstville.
The Scentre Group, which manages 41 Westfield "living centres", reported results for the group for the 12 months to December, 2018.
Our customers are telling us...they want to engage and socialise with family and friends, and be entertained, as well as shop.
- Scentre Group
A spokeswoman said customers were coming to their local Westfield centre "for much more than shopping".
"More than ever before, our customers are telling us … they want to engage and socialise with family and friends, and be entertained, as well as shop," she said.
“These changing customer expectations are reflected in the increasing number of retailers in our centres that offer experiences that our customers consume on-site such as restaurants, beauty, fitness, health and wellbeing, and entertainment.
"For example, the Miranda centre on the weekend featured a series of workshops for customers to explore their creativity, including Kikki K Vision board workshops, Rose & Co floral posie and platter making.
"At Hurstville, we held Cork and Canvas workshops, where customers were invited to indulge in a glass of wine, whilst creating an artistic masterpiece.
"We also offered face painting, sushi-making classes and a raft of other events that bring our customers closer to our retail partners at both centres."
The spokeswoman downplayed the closure during the last year of several restaurants at Westfield Miranda, including Mejico, one of the major tenants.
She said two new food and dining retailers were coming to Miranda, with the Good Place to open in the rooftop dining precinct and Vietnamese restaurant Roll’d in the main shopping centre.
Mejico restaurant closed without explanation at the end of January after four years in the Miranda centre. It was a major dining attraction in the $475 million redevelopment, which was completed in November, 2014
The spokeswoman said the rooftop dining and entertainment precinct at Miranda "continues to be a popular choice with our customers".
"Recent customer feedback on the rooftop dining and entertainment precinct has been overwhelmingly positive, with many customers telling us that dining, socializing and being entertained at Westfield Miranda has never been easier."
Comments had included:
- "Love the rooftop food and entertainment area on the western end. Makes for a great view, especially of an evening looking across to the city and listening to the bird life settling in for the night in the huge tree which has been kept after all the recent renovations."
- "For us, the best part is the abundance of good eating places and the amazing Gold Class cinema".
- "Large Westfield. Something in there for everyone. They have event cinemas as well as many places to eat. The dining is across a few levels and even have a multiple restaurants on the roof. Lovely decor inside and out "
“Our net promoter score [a measure of the willingness of customers to recommend to others] has more than doubled at Miranda in the past 12 months," she said.
