Shopping Mall Boom: Malls in NCR Modify Approaches to Draw More Customers

Shopping Mall Boom: Malls in NCR Modify Approaches to Draw More Customers

Delhi-NCR Malls Evolve into Experience-Driven Destinations

Delhi-NCR's retail landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, with malls metamorphosing from traditional shopping hubs into experiential, entertainment, and social destinations. This shift is driven by a resurgence in footfall post-pandemic, which now surpasses pre-COVID levels on weekends and festive periods.

The key factors propelling this transformation include a strategic shift to integrate entertainment, community engagement, and curated experiences tailored to digitally aware and experience-hungry consumers. Increasing incomes and urbanization in the National Capital Region (NCR) have boosted demand for Grade A retail spaces, triggering mall expansions and redesigns to offer more than just transactional shopping experiences.

Malls are innovating with experience-led retail, combining shopping with entertainment and food, creating spaces that encourage longer and more frequent visits. Premium retail asset demand is on the rise, with leasing activity surging, especially in premium Grade-A+ properties. This focus on quality, experience-focused environments offers a competitive advantage over high streets, where retail leasing has declined.

Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad are contributing nearly 65% of the new retail space pipeline across India's largest cities, reinforcing NCR’s role as a key consumption hub. Global and domestic brands are increasingly drawn to strategically located, well-planned high streets in NCR.

Emerging corridors like Sohna Road and sectors along it, such as Sector 68, are gaining traction in NCR for their connectivity and development potential. Ambience Malls in Gurugram are designed to create immersive, multi-sensory environments, blending gourmet food, wellness zones, art installations, and entertainment arenas.

The retail sector in India is expected to expand historically, with a record 16.6 million sq. ft. of Grade A mall space expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Arjun Gehlot, Director of Ambience Malls in Gurugram and Vasant Kunj, states that malls in the NCR region are central to redefining how modern India experiences retail.

Leasing activity remains robust, with over 12.6 Mn sq. ft. projected to be leased across 2025 and 2026. Prakash Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director of Ocus Group, says that retail leasing in NCR is growing, particularly with the focus on organised high-street formats and strategically located, well-planned high streets. Pankaj Jain, Founder and CMD of SPJ Group, states that Gurugram’s commercial growth is driving strong momentum in leasing activity.

High street retail is seen as the next frontier in urban shopping experiences, especially in dynamic cities like Gurgaon, where curated, experience-led retail formats are seen as a significant opportunity. Mall operators and developers in Delhi-NCR are reimagining these spaces to align with the expectations of experience-hungry, digitally aware consumers.

In summary, Delhi-NCR malls are evolving beyond retail by prioritizing experiential, entertainment, and social elements to meet contemporary consumer preferences, driving the ongoing revival and growth of physical retail spaces in a digitally competitive market.

1. The transformation of Delhi-NCR's retail landscape includes the evolution of malls from traditional shopping hubs into experiential destinations, integrating entertainment, community engagement, and curated experiences for digitally aware consumers.
2. The increasing demand for Grade A retail spaces in Delhi-NCR is boosted by urbanization and higher incomes, leading to mall expansions and redesigns, offering more than just transactional shopping experiences.
3. Mall operators in Delhi-NCR, such as Ambience Malls, are focusing on creating immersive, multi-sensory environments, blending various elements like gourmet food, wellness zones, art installations, and entertainment arenas.
4. As Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad contribute significantly to India's new retail space pipeline, high street retail is seen as the next frontier, particularly in cities like Gurgaon, where curated, experience-led retail formats are considered a significant opportunity for meeting the expectations of digitally aware, experience-hungry consumers.

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