Delhi-NCR retail leasing rose 45% in Q1, led by fashion and F&B demand
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, Cushman & Wakefield data showed. Malls accounted for 64% of leasing, while the region represented 30% of activity across India’s top eight cities.
What happened
Cushman & Wakefield · Delhi-NCR retail leasing climbed 45% in Q1 2026 to nearly 6 lakh sq ft, led by fashion and F&B demand. Limited quality supply constrained
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
- Malls accounted for 64% of Delhi-NCR leasing; high streets 36%
- Delhi-NCR represented 30% of leasing across India’s top eight cities
- Eight-city leasing fell 10% to 1.95 million sq ft from 2.17 million sq ft
- 2025 eight-city leasing totaled 9.21 million sq ft
Why this matters
The leasing surge and Delhi-NCR’s 30% share of top-eight-city activity make mall partnerships, brand roll-ups, and F&B/fashion platform deals particularly timely in the region.
What to watch
- Quarterly Delhi-NCR retail leasing and net absorption versus new mall supply
- Prime-mall rental escalation, lease incentives and vacancy trends
- Fashion and F&B chain store-opening guidance and fit-out activity
- Mall footfall, retailer same-store sales and food-and-beverage revenue growth
- New Grade A mall completions and redevelopment announcements across Gurgaon, Noida and Delhi
- Consumer spending, inflation and discretionary-income indicators in NCR
- Fashion brands should lock in high-footfall mall locations before rent resets, while negotiating turnover-linked components and co-marketing commitments.
- F&B operators should prioritize food-court, entertainment-led and transit-adjacent malls where repeat visitation can support higher occupancy costs.
- Mall owners should accelerate tenant-mix upgrades, dining capacity, events and omnichannel infrastructure to convert leasing into sustained footfall.
- Investors should screen NCR retail assets by tenant sales density, lease expiry concentration, catchment affluence and pending competing supply rather than headline occupancy alone.