Delhi-NCR retail leasing rose 45% in Q1, resurfacing a January 2026 report on fashion and F&B-led demand
Resurfacing data from a January 2026 report, Delhi-NCR retail-space leasing reached 0.59 million sq ft in Q1 2026, up from 0.41 million sq ft a year earlier. Shopping malls accounted for 64% of activity as demand for organised retail space outpaced quality supply.
What happened
Cushman & Wakefield · Delhi-NCR retail-space 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%
Key facts
- Delhi-NCR Q1 2026 retail leasing: 0.59 million sq ft (nearly 6 lakh sq ft)
- Delhi-NCR leasing growth: 45% year-on-year
- Delhi-NCR Q1 2025 leasing: 0.41 million sq ft
- Shopping malls share: 64%
- High streets 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 2026 leasing decline: 10% year-on-year
- Top-eight-city Q1 2025 leasing: 2.17 million sq ft
- Top-eight-city calendar 2025 leasing: 9.21 million sq ft
Why this matters
Fashion and F&B brands should prioritise mall-led expansion, landlord partnerships and early site commitments in Delhi-NCR as organised space demand continues to outstrip premium supply.
What to watch
- Quarterly Delhi-NCR retail leasing volume, mall share of transactions and net absorption versus new completions.
- Prime-mall vacancy, quoted rents, revenue-share demands and renewal escalations in Delhi, Gurugram and Noida.
- Store-opening announcements and same-store-sales trends from fashion, beauty, footwear, F&B and international entrants.
- Mall footfall, weekend dwell time, food-court sales and cinema/entertainment traffic as indicators of sustainable consumer demand.
- New mall and mixed-use project deliveries, particularly whether they add genuinely Grade-A space or fragment demand.
- Whether the broader eight-city leasing decline persists for another two quarters, signalling a national retail expansion slowdown.
- Prioritise site acquisition in high-performing Delhi-NCR malls, especially for fashion, beauty, athleisure, QSR and casual dining concepts.
- Use long lease tenures, phased rent escalations, revenue-share structures and fit-out contributions to secure scarce prime units before rents reset higher.
- Build a catchment-level store pipeline across Gurugram, Noida, Greater Noida and emerging mixed-use districts rather than relying only on core Delhi locations.
- Benchmark mall footfall, sales density, occupancy cost and tenant adjacency before committing; favour relocations and larger-format upgrades where existing NCR stores are capacity-constrained.
- Landlords should accelerate asset upgrades and tenant-mix optimisation, allocating more frontage and evening-trade space to F&B, entertainment and experiential retail.