Delhi-NCR retail leasing jumps 45% in Q1 as fashion and F&B demand builds
Delhi-NCR retail leasing rose to 0.59 million sq ft in Q1 2026, with malls accounting for 64% of transactions. The region captured 30% of leasing across India’s top eight cities, even as overall leasing declined 10% amid limited supply.
What happened
Cushman & Wakefield · Delhi-NCR retail leasing rose 45% in Q1 2026 to 0.59 million sq ft, led by mall demand and fashion and F&B occupiers. Across eight major
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
- Malls accounted for 64% of Delhi-NCR leasing; high streets accounted for 36%
- Delhi-NCR represented 30% of leasing across India’s top eight cities
- Top-eight-city leasing fell 10% to 1.95 million sq ft from 2.17 million sq ft
- Top eight cities recorded 9.21 million sq ft of retail leasing in calendar year 2025
Why this matters
The concentration of leasing in malls creates a timely pipeline for fashion and F&B partnerships, but deal teams should move quickly on scarce prime sites.
What to watch
- Q2-Q3 Delhi-NCR leasing volumes and the share of mall versus high-street transactions.
- Announced mall openings, redevelopment completions and new retail supply deliveries.
- Rental escalations, vacancy rates and tenant incentives at leading NCR malls.
- Store-opening announcements from domestic fashion, international apparel, beauty, QSR and cafe chains.
- Consumer discretionary-spend trends, especially premium fashion and dining demand.
- Whether Delhi-NCR maintains an outsized share of top-eight-city retail leasing despite national market softness.
- Prioritize Delhi-NCR mall pipeline and refurbishment opportunities over greenfield retail projects.
- Track fashion, quick-service restaurant, cafe, beauty and experiential-entertainment brands for multi-store expansion mandates.
- Secure anchor and mini-anchor commitments early, then use stronger footfall data to reprice inline-store inventory.
- Evaluate high-street alternatives near affluent residential clusters where mall supply is constrained.
- Build tenant-mix strategies around longer dwell-time categories, as F&B expansion can increase cross-shopping for fashion tenants.