India's retail focus returns to malls as high street leasing falls 26% in Q2 2025

According to the latest report by Cushman & Wakefield Malls accounted for 45 per cent of leasing volume in Q2 (1.01 MSF) - a 42 per cent q-o-q rise, and the highest mall share in the past five quarters, signaling growing interest in experience-driven, structured retail formats.

However, even after witnessing a dip in the leasing activities, high streets continued to dominate with 55 per cent (1.23 MSF) of the market, underscoring the persistent undersupply of quality mall stock across cities.

According to the 'Q2-2025 Retail Market Beat Report', no new mall supply was added in Q2, and Grade A mall completions for H1 2025 stood at 1.3 million square feet. As a result, mall vacancy levels dropped by around 77 basis points to 8.16 per cent in Q2 2025, with premium Grade-A+ or superior malls witnessing even tighter vacancies at just 4.28 per cent.

This highlights the growing demand for premium retail assets and further strengthens landlord leverage in prime locations.

Meanwhile, average mainstreet rents remained stable on a q-o-q basis, while recording a healthy 6 per cent y-o-y rise.

Suvishesh Valsan, Head, Research India at Cushman & Wakefield said, "High streets remained the dominant driver of activity, while vacancy levels in Grade-A malls have tightened further - reflecting a clear and growing preference for high-quality and experience-led retail spaces. Looking ahead, we remain optimistic. Nearly 4 MSF of new Grade A supply is expected in the second half of the year, particularly across key metros such as Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, and Hyderabad"

He stated that the growing interest from international brands and the sharp uptick in leasing across categories like wellness and grocery -- both of which signal a broader shift in India's consumption landscape.

As per the report, the domestic retailers continued to maintain a dominant position in leasing volume with 86 per cent share (1.93 MSF).

The quarter also witnessed a notable uptake in international retailer participation, whose share rose to 14 per cent with 0.31 MSF of leasing activity, up from 8.5 per cent in the previous quarter.

This growth was largely driven by malls, which remain the preferred format for global brands seeking structured environments, brand visibility, and curated customer experiences.

In terms of cities, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR emerged as the top-performing markets, recording leasing volumes of 0.76 MSF, 0.52 MSF and 0.3 MSF respectively- collectively accounting for over 70 per cent of the total leasing activity in the quarter. They were followed by Pune (0.23 MSF), Bengaluru (0.18 MSF), Chennai (0.16 MSF), Kolkata (0.05 MSF) and Ahmedabad (0.04 MSF). (ANI)