Delhi-NCR retail leasing rose 45% in Q1 2026, resurfaced data shows fashion and F&B demand accelerating
Resurfacing a Q1 2026 report: Delhi-NCR retail leasing reached 0.59 million sq ft in Q1 2026, up from 0.41 million sq ft a year earlier. Malls accounted for 64% of take-up, while Delhi-NCR represented 30% of leasing across India’s top eight cities amid a shortage of quality space.
What happened
Cushman & Wakefield · Delhi-NCR retail leasing rose 45% year-on-year to 0.59 million sq ft in Q1 2026, led by fashion and F&B demand. Malls captured 64% of
Key facts
- Delhi-NCR Q1 2026 retail leasing: 0.59 million sq ft
- Delhi-NCR leasing growth: 45% year-on-year
- Delhi-NCR Q1 2025 leasing: 0.41 million sq ft
- Shopping mall share: 64%
- High-street share: 36%
- Delhi-NCR share of top-eight-city leasing: 30%
- Top-eight-city Q1 2026 leasing: 1.95 million sq ft
- Top-eight-city Q1 2025 leasing: 2.17 million sq ft
- Top-eight-city leasing decline: 10%
- 2025 leasing across eight cities: 9.21 million sq ft
Why this matters
Retailers pursuing expansion or partnerships in Delhi-NCR should accelerate site pipelines, as the region’s 30% share of top-city leasing signals intensifying competition for strategic locations.
What to watch
- Quarterly NCR net absorption versus new Grade A mall supply and vacancy trends.
- Renewal rent increases, incentive levels, and revenue-share terms at dominant malls.
- Fashion and F&B same-store sales growth, outlet closure rates, and announced India expansion plans.
- Leasing share shifting from malls toward high streets, mixed-use projects, or peripheral NCR clusters.
- Completion schedules, pre-commitments, and tenant quality at upcoming Gurgaon and Noida retail developments.
- Prioritize early negotiations for anchor, large-format fashion, beauty, and F&B space in top-performing NCR malls before renewal repricing accelerates.
- Model store P&Ls using higher base rent, common-area charges, fit-out costs, and stepped escalations; require stronger sales-density thresholds for new mall openings.
- Build a corridor-specific pipeline map for Gurgaon, Noida, South Delhi, and West Delhi to identify projects likely to add credible Grade A supply over the next 12-24 months.
- Use flexible deal structures—turnover rent, fit-out contributions, phased openings, and break options—for experimental concepts and first-time NCR locations.
- For landlords, convert demand momentum into longer lease tenures and curated category adjacencies, while reserving vacant premium units for high-conversion fashion and destination F&B brands.