Delhi-NCR retail leasing rises 45% in Q1 as fashion and F&B fuel demand
Delhi-NCR retail leasing reached 0.59 million sq ft in Q1 2026, up 45% year-on-year, with malls taking 64% of space leased. Fashion and F&B demand, retailer expansion and international-brand interest are tightening the market for quality retail space.
What happened
Cushman & Wakefield · Delhi-NCR retail-space 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%
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 accounted for 36%
- Delhi-NCR held a 30% share of leasing across the top eight cities
- Top-eight-city leasing fell 10% to 1.95 million sq ft from 2.17 million sq ft
- Top-eight-city retail leasing totalled 9.21 million sq ft in calendar 2025
Why this matters
Fashion, F&B and international-brand demand creates opportunities to secure strategic mall partnerships, franchise rights and adjacent-brand deals before premium locations become scarcer.
What to watch
- Quarterly leasing volumes and net absorption in Delhi-NCR, especially the share captured by malls versus high streets.
- Grade A mall vacancy rates, renewal rental uplifts and retailer waiting lists for premium properties.
- New mall completions, expansion pipelines and the timing of handovers across Gurgaon, Noida, South Delhi and Ghaziabad.
- Same-store sales growth and store-opening guidance from fashion, beauty, QSR, casual-dining and international retailers.
- F&B closures, fit-out cost inflation and the frequency of lease renegotiations among independent operators.
- Consumer discretionary-spending indicators, including premium apparel sales, restaurant footfall and credit-card transaction growth.
- Secure long-duration leases or renewal options in high-footfall Grade A malls before further rent resets.
- Prioritize stores that combine fashion-led traffic with F&B adjacency, entertainment and strong weekend conversion.
- Shift expansion evaluation from occupancy cost alone to store-level sales density, delivery catchment and customer-acquisition value.
- Landlords should use tighter availability to seek turnover-linked rent structures, stronger escalation clauses and curated tenant mixes.
- Smaller retailers should explore high-street clusters, shop-in-shop formats and flexible leases as prime mall entry costs rise.