Shoppers have flocked to Westfield malls in the first three months of the year, bucking concerns about a national spending slowdown.

Over the first quarter of the year, Westfield malls across Australia welcomed 16 per cent more shoppers than the same period in 2022, some 17 million more visits.

Parent company Scentre CEO Elliott Rusanow announced the stats at the company’s annual general meeting in Sydney, adding that cash collections for period were $663 million, some $78 million higher than the same period in 2022.

“Total business partner sales for January and February 2023 are 17 per cent higher compared to the same period in 2022 and 10 per cent higher than 2019,” he said.

“Progress continues to be made on the group’s strategic customer initiatives including our membership program which now has 3.4 million members, an increase of 1.2 million since the start of 2022.”

Rusanow also announced long-time chairman Brian Schwartz will step down at the end of September, with current director Ilana Atlas stepping in as chair-elect.

Schwartz has been group chair since 2016, and oversaw Rusanow’s succession to chief.

“Having completed the group’s CEO succession, and with the company moving forward strongly as demonstrated by our most recent full year results with Funds from operation and distribution both exceeding guidance, it is the right time for me to step down,” Schwartz said.