Delhi-NCR retail leasing jumped 45% in Q1 2026 as fashion and F&B demand built, resurfacing an early-2026 report
Resurfacing data from Cushman & Wakefield: Delhi-NCR leased 0.59 million sq ft of retail space in January-March 2026, up from 0.41 million sq ft a year earlier. Malls accounted for 64% of activity, while constrained quality supply contributed to a 10% decline across India's top eight cities.
What happened
Cushman & Wakefield · Delhi-NCR retail leasing rose 45% year-on-year in Q1 2026 to 0.59 million sq ft, led by fashion and F&B demand. Mall leasing dominated,
Key facts
- Delhi-NCR retail leasing rose 45% year-on-year to 0.59 million sq ft in January-March 2026 from 0.41 million sq ft
- Shopping malls accounted for 64% of Delhi-NCR leasing; high streets accounted for 36%
- Delhi-NCR held a 30% share of leasing across India’s top eight cities
- Leasing across eight cities fell 10% to 1.95 million sq ft from 2.17 million sq ft
- Eight-city retail leasing totalled 9.21 million sq ft in calendar 2025
Why this matters
Fashion and F&B brands should accelerate Delhi-NCR expansion and partnership discussions, as malls are capturing most leasing activity amid tightening availability.
What to watch
- Quarterly Delhi-NCR mall vacancy, renewal spreads, and effective rent growth versus headline rent growth.
- New Grade A mall completions, pre-leasing levels, and construction or approval delays through 2026-27.
- Fashion and F&B same-store sales, store opening guidance, and franchisee expansion announcements.
- Consumer discretionary spending, household income growth, and food inflation trends affecting retailer unit economics.
- Leasing concentration by submarket, especially Gurgaon, Noida, South Delhi, and airport or transit-oriented retail clusters.
- Whether the top-eight-city retail leasing decline persists, indicating supply scarcity rather than broad-based retailer demand weakness.
- Anchor fashion, beauty, athleisure, and quick-service restaurant tenants will seek larger flagship formats in high-footfall malls and affluent high-street clusters.
- Mall owners will rebalance tenant mixes toward experiential F&B, entertainment, and premium brands to increase dwell time and sales density.
- Landlords will increasingly use turnover-linked rents and selective revenue-share structures for emerging brands while demanding stronger covenants from established chains.
- Retailers unable to access prime mall space may shift expansion toward secondary micro-markets, transit-linked developments, and mixed-use projects.
- Competing developers will evaluate redevelopment of ageing malls and conversion of underperforming commercial assets into curated retail-led destinations.