India’s retail sector records 2.24 million square feet leasing volume in April-June

New Delhi, July 24
The April-June period recorded around 2.24 million square feet (MSF) of leasing across malls and high streets in India's top eight cities, including Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru, a report showed on Thursday.

The figure is in line with the average quarterly volume observed over the past four quarters, though it represents a slight 5.4 per cent dip quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) and a 6.3 per cent dip year-on-year (YoY), said Cushman & Wakefield in its 'Q2-2025 Retail Market Beat' Report.

As per the report, 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). In terms of growth in leasing volume, Mumbai and Pune saw a 1.6 times and 1.5 times rise in volume on a YoY basis during the quarter.

“India’s retail sector continues to demonstrate strong momentum, with consistent growth in leasing volumes pointing to a healthy underlying demand," said Suvishesh Valsan, Head, Research India at Cushman & Wakefield.

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, Valsan added.

With this, the first half of the 2025 leasing volumes stood at 4.61 MSF, marking a 17 per cent YoY growth, reaffirming strong retailer sentiment amid stable consumer demand, the report added.

Malls accounted for 45 per cent of leasing volume in Q2 (1.01 MSF) – a 42 per cent QoQ rise.

This highlights the growing demand for premium retail assets and further strengthens landlord leverage in prime locations. In terms of category demand, Food & Beverage and Fashion remained the primary space takers across both mall and high street formats in the second quarter of the year, accounting for more than 50 per cent share of leasing activity, the report highlighted.