Delhi-NCR retail leasing jumps 45% in Q1 as fashion and F&B demand accelerates
Delhi-NCR retail leasing reached 0.59 million sq ft in January-March 2026, up from 0.41 million sq ft a year earlier. Malls accounted for 64% of leasing, while the top eight Indian cities saw activity fall 10% amid constrained supply.
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. Malls captured 64% of
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 and high streets 36%
- Delhi-NCR represented 30% of leasing across India’s top eight cities
- Top-eight-city retail leasing fell 10% to 1.95 million sq ft from 2.17 million sq ft
- Calendar-year 2025 leasing across eight cities totalled 9.21 million sq ft
Why this matters
The concentration of leasing in malls creates an opening to secure strategic landlord partnerships and premium retail sites before fashion and F&B competition tightens further.
What to watch
- Quarterly Delhi-NCR Grade A mall vacancy, net absorption and asking-rent growth.
- New mall completions, redevelopment pipelines and announced anchor-store vacancies.
- Same-store sales and discretionary spending trends for fashion, beauty and dining operators.
- Share of leasing from F&B versus apparel, and average leased unit size.
- High-street rental growth in Gurgaon, Noida, South Delhi and emerging NCR corridors.
- Prioritize early renewals and expansion options in top-performing Delhi-NCR malls before rent resets.
- Use sales-per-square-foot and omnichannel catchment data to choose between premium mall flagships and lower-cost high-street formats.
- Negotiate phased openings, revenue-share clauses and landlord-funded fit-outs to offset rising occupancy costs.
- Build F&B, beauty and experiential adjacencies into store-location strategy as malls compete for longer dwell time.