India’s brick-and-mortar retail sector notched a strong first half of 2026, with mall and high-street leasing climbing to 3.9 million square feet — a 20% jump over the same stretch last year.
Clothing and fashion brands were the engine behind this growth, gobbling up roughly two out of every five square feet or 40% of leased stores nationwide, as per new data from property consultancy CBRE South Asia.
The second quarter alone contributed a hefty 2 million square feet to that tally, signaling that leasing velocity actually picked up steam as the half progressed rather than fading out.
Consultants say the numbers are notable given the backdrop: retailers have been navigating choppy macroeconomic conditions and supply-chain disruptions tied to unrest in the Middle East, yet occupier appetite for physical space barely flinched.
“India’s retail story in H1 2026 reflects a market that is maturing, not just growing,” said CBRE’s CEO- India, South-East Asia, Middle East, and North Africa Anshuman Magazine in a press release.
“Retailers today are making sharper, more considered choices about where and how they expand, and that discipline is exactly what is building a more resilient, long-term retail sector for the country,” he added.
On the supply side, developers delivered 900,000 square feet of fresh retail stock during the period — and all of it landed in Delhi-NCR.
Geographically, three cities did the heavy lifting. Delhi-NCR topped the leasing charts, trailed by Chennai and Mumbai, with the trio together responsible for about two-thirds of all space absorbed nationally.
Beyond fashion, food and beverage operators claimed a 14% slice of leasing activity, while entertainment venues like cinemas, gaming zones, and family entertainment centers capturing 9%.
Homegrown brands continued to outmuscle international entrants at the leasing table, with domestic players — spanning fashion, F&B, entertainment, and jewelry — responsible for more than 70% of total space take-up.
Meanwhile, digitally native (D2C) brands making the leap into physical retail proved to be an outsized growth driver, snapping up 28% of all leasing volume during the half — a sign that online-first labels are increasingly betting on physical storefronts to build brand presence.
Industry watchers point to a common thread across these numbers: retailers aren’t just expanding for expansion’s sake.
The push is toward experiential formats and consumer-facing innovation, suggesting operators are chasing quality real estate that can support longer-term brand-building rather than just square footage.
Image courtesy: Freepik
