Tanger CEO Yalof says consumers still spending despite low confidence

U.S. shoppers are willing to spend this holiday season — despite falling consumer confidence and anxiety over prices — but only if the deals are there, Tanger CEO Stephen Yalof told CNBC on Tuesday.

“Retailers are discounting to meet the consumer, and the consumer is responding by shopping,” Yalof said on CNBC’s “Money Movers.”

Yalof said Tanger tries to offer shoppers access to premium brands at prices that feel consistently compelling. Retailers across the company’s outlet portfolio leaned heavily into promotions during the holidays, helping sustain traffic and sales.

Customers are “looking to come into a space where they can buy products at full price, maybe above the price point they want to spend, but they can embrace that price point because they know it’s value priced every day,” Yalof said.

He described holiday traffic at Tanger’s outlet centers as strong, citing full parking lots and steady activity through 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 fresh 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 Tuesday.

The report, which tracks payments activity beginning Nov. 1, found that in-store shopping 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 grew 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 nearing the 85.7 level seen in April, when the administration rolled out broad 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 shape where and how shoppers spend.

Looking ahead, Yalof said retailers appear confident about demand in 2026.

“Retailers want stores. They love bricks and mortar,” Yalof said, adding that brands are increasingly looking to control their own physical retail presence as department stores continue to consolidate.