American shoppers are willing to spend this holiday season, despite falling consumer confidence and price anxiety, but only if the deals are there, Tanger CEO Stephen Yalof told CNBC on Tuesday.
“Retailers are discounting to satisfy the consumer, and the consumer responds by buying,” Yalof said on CNBC's “Money Movers.”
Yalof said Tanger tries to offer shoppers access to premium brands at prices that appear consistently attractive. Retailers across the company's portfolio of stores relied heavily on promotions during the holidays, which helped maintain traffic and sales.
Customers “are looking to get into a space where they can buy products at full price, maybe above the price they want to spend, but they can accept that price because they know it's an everyday affordable price,” Yalof said.
He described holiday traffic at Tangier outlet centers as strong, citing full parking lots and steady activity during November and December.
“I feel like the customer is very resilient,” he said. “They're looking to spend.”
Yalof's comments come on the heels of new data showing that consumers are spending more than their confidence levels might suggest.
U.S. retail spending rose 4.2% year over year during the holiday season, before adjusting for inflation, according to preliminary data from Visa released on Tuesday.
The report, which tracks payment activity as of Nov. 1, found that in-store purchases accounted for 73% of spending, while online sales drove growth, rising 7.8% from a year earlier.
At the same time, sentiment remains subdued.
Consumer confidence weakened in December as Americans became more anxious about persistently high prices and the impact of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.
The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 3.8 points to 89.1, down from an upwardly revised 92.9 in November and approaching the 85.7 level seen in April, when the administration implemented sweeping import duties on U.S. trading partners.
Likewise, the latest CNBC All-America Economic Survey, released last week, found that 41% of Americans planned to spend less this holiday season, up 6 points from a year ago, as higher prices continued to determine where and how shoppers spend.
Looking ahead, Yalof said retailers appear confident in demand in 2026.
“Retailers want stores. They love physical stores,” Yalof said, adding that brands are increasingly looking to control their own physical retail presence as department stores continue to consolidate.
