New Delhi, April 8 Leasing activity in India’s retail sector recorded a robust 55 per cent jump to cross 2.4 million square feet (MSF) in the January-March quarter this year across the country’s top eight cities, with both malls and mainstreets contributing to the growth, according to a report released on Tuesday.
Both malls and mainstreets contributed to this growth owing to the commencement of new supply in emerging locations, said the report by Cushman & Wakefield.
The report highlighted that Hyderabad was the frontrunner in terms of leasing volume, contributing 34 per cent (0.8 MSF) of the total leasing activity, with a staggering 106 per cent year-on-year growth.
Mumbai followed closely, accounting for 24 per cent (0.58 MSF) of the total leasing volume and recorded a 259 per cent year-on-year growth, largely owing to the emergence of new high street locations and the addition of new mall supply, the report stated.
Delhi-NCR also saw significant traction, capturing 17 per cent (0.41 MSF) of the total leasing share, supported by strong demand in key submarkets and a 57 per cent year-on-year increase.
Bengaluru and Chennai, meanwhile, exhibited stable growth numbers with 0.19 MSF and 0.17 MSF of leasing respectively.
Saurabh Shatdal, Managing Director at Cushman & Wakefield, said, "India’s retail sector is evolving at a dynamic pace, and the strong leasing activity in Q1 2025 reflects growing market confidence.”
"With close to 7 million square feet of new supply expected over the next three quarters—largely comprising premium Grade A malls—we expect this positive momentum to continue well into the year,” he mentioned.
The report also observed that mainstreets continued their domination of the leasing landscape, accounting for two-third of the total leasing volume at 1.69 MSF, with premium high street locations in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad witnessing heightened interest from retailers.
In terms of category demand, the report observed that entertainment and fashion were the biggest space consumers in malls, capturing a 34 per cent leasing share at 0.35 MSF, whereas fashion and F&B were most prevalent in main streets across the top-8 cities with 0.80 MSF of leasing volume.
Additionally, foreign brands accounted for around 8 per cent of the transaction volumes to partake in India’s growing consumption story, while domestic brands drove over 92 per cent of leasing activity, highlighting the strength of the homegrown retail expansion.
Looking ahead, mall leasing activity is expected to further pick up with close to 6.4 MSF of new mall supply expected across the top 8 cities by the end of 2025, 58 per cent of which will be Grade A+, the report said.
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