Delhi-NCR retail leasing jumps 45% in Q1 as fashion and F&B fuel demand
Delhi-NCR leased 0.59 million sq ft of retail space in Q1 2026, up from 0.41 million sq ft a year earlier. Malls accounted for 64% of activity, while Delhi-NCR made up 30% of leasing across India’s top eight cities, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
What happened
Cushman & Wakefield · Delhi-NCR retail leasing rose 45% year-on-year in Q1 2026, led by fashion and F&B demand. Malls captured 64% of activity. Tight
Key facts
- Delhi-NCR retail leasing rose 45% year-on-year to 0.59 million sq ft in Q1 2026 from 0.41 million sq ft
- Shopping malls accounted for 64% of Delhi-NCR leasing; high streets 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
- 2025 leasing across eight cities totaled 9.21 million sq ft
Why this matters
Delhi-NCR’s 30% share of top-eight-city leasing makes the region a priority market for mall partnerships, portfolio deals, and expansion-led strategic alliances in fashion and F&B.
What to watch
- Q2-Q3 Delhi-NCR net absorption, vacancy and effective rent data, especially for Grade A malls.
- Mall supply completions, redevelopment openings and large-format retail availability across Gurugram, Noida, Greater Noida and Delhi.
- Renewal rent resets and the share of deals signed on revenue-share or turnover-linked structures.
- Fashion and F&B same-store sales, restaurant closures, and franchisee financing conditions.
- Consumer discretionary-spend indicators, premiumization trends and footfall/dwell-time data at leading malls.
- Track announced store pipelines from fashion, beauty, QSR, cafés and entertainment operators for Delhi-NCR clusters rather than single-store openings.
- Prioritize prime mall and dominant high-street exposure, but underwrite higher fit-out costs, security deposits and revenue-share commitments.
- Expect landlords to use tenant mix upgrades and mall repositioning to replace weaker categories with food, experiential retail and premium fashion.
- Monitor store-level sales productivity before treating leased area growth as durable retail demand; rapid expansion can dilute sales in overlapping catchments.