Since its origination, outlets have seen variation in project size and an industry reorganization in the early 1990s which resulted in many smaller outlets going dark. As newer outlets continue their popularity, clear differences between new well designed centers and traditional retail centers is becoming harder and harder to differentiate.

An outlet mall (or outlet centre) is a type of shopping mall, in which manufacturers sell their products directly to the public through their own branded stores. Clothing, sporting goods, electrical products, cosmetics, and toys are among the types of items sold at outlet malls.

Outlet malls first appeared in the United States as a development of the traditional factory outlet: a store attached to a factory or warehouse. An outlet mall places several such outlets under one roof in a convenient location, usually an “out-of-town” site. The out-of-town site minimizes overhead costs. And they may be legally necessary as conventional retailers may have contractual restrictions on the manufacturer on the location of the factory outlets so as to minimize competition with the traditional retailer. Therefore, factory outlets are usually located some distance from major cities.

Although Canada has its own outlet malls, American outlet malls located in border states have become tremendously popular with Canadians engaging in cross-border shopping.