For years, multi-tenant destinations—malls, airports, mixed-use centers, etc.—have all been trying to answer the same question: How do we prove that our marketing efforts drive revenue for tenants?
Even with sophisticated tools and large-scale foot traffic studies, the numbers don’t tell the full story. A busy corridor doesn’t mean visitors are converting. High dwell-time could mean engaged shoppers—or it could mean people are killing time between flights. In short, “People walked by your storefront!” doesn’t satisfy tenants who expect measurable performance.
As customer journeys evolve and tenant expectations rise, the traditional toolkit of metrics is showing its limits. The good news? Multi-tenant retail properties don’t have to settle for incomplete insights anymore. Epsilon’s multi-tenant solution was built for this shift, designed to help operators move past traditional metrics and toward buyer-level intelligence that finally connects marketing investments to real outcomes.
Keep reading to learn how you can take your multi-tenant retail strategy into 2026 and beyond.
Multi-tenant retail centers generated $12.1 billion in sales volume in Q2 2025 alone, and investment in the sector surged 23% year-over-year to $28.5 billion. It’s clear they represent a huge economic engine in the United States, and retail centers, mixed-use portfolios, airports and casinos all play a role in a broader ecosystem of shopping, dining, entertainment and services.
Unsurprisingly, changes to the landscape are accelerating the need for smarter marketing investments:
This makes multi-tenant properties rich with opportunity but uniquely complex to measure.
Many property operators still rely on metrics that have limitations when used on their own. Let’s dive into a few examples.
Foot traffic studies can tell you whether people entered the building or walked past a storefront. What they can’t tell you is:
When tenants ask for proof of ROI, saying “These people walked past your store!” doesn’t hold much weight anymore. Many of these brands are used more measurable insights from their marketing investments, and they expect more from their partners.
Modern shoppers rarely act in a linear path. They browse in one location, buy in another, redeem loyalty offers days later and engage across multiple channels. Without a way to connect these behaviors, property owners and tenants end up with siloed insights that don’t reflect the real customer journey.
When data is siloed—tenants own some, property owners own some and media partners hold the rest—precision targeting becomes nearly impossible. As a result, budgets stretch thinner, campaigns underperform and proving ROI becomes more of an uphill battle.
The result of these traditional ways to measure retail impact? Incomplete insights, duplicative spend and missed opportunities.
To help properties and tenants work from the same playbook, Epsilon crafted a digital solution built specifically for multi-tenant environments. Its goal is simple: help properties prove marketing ROI—accurately, transparently and without heavy technical lift.
Here’s how it works at a high level:
This shift—from “How many people walked by?” to “Who bought, when and what drove them to convert?”—unlocks a new level of transparency across the entire tenant ecosystem.
A major advantage of this approach is that it creates a mutually beneficial environment for both tenants and property owners:
A well-loved indoor mall wanted to drive spend and visitation but struggled to reach high-value customers. To get more customers in the door, the retailer tapped into Epsilon’s transactional data to reach past spenders and likely spenders at stores within nearby malls, serving them eye-catching cross-device display and video to generate buzz. The result?
The retail sector is in a period of reinvention. Investment volumes are rising, tenant mixes are evolving and guest expectations are high. As the lines between retail, entertainment, travel and service blur, properties need better ways to understand and influence behavior.
Digital transformation is no longer a “nice to have.” It’s foundational and extending to every sector. And buyer intelligence gives multi-tenant destinations the clarity and confidence they’ve been missing and a way to connect the dots.
If you’d like to explore how this approach can help your property prove ROI with more confidence, let’s talk. In the meantime, learn more about Epsilon’s multi-tenant solution here.
