Retail Space Leasing Up 55% in Q1 2025: Report

New Delhi, Apr 8 (PTI) Leasing of retail spaces in shopping malls and major high-streets rose 55 per cent in the latest March quarter across eight major cities to over 24 lakh square feet, as retailers look to expand their businesses, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

In its Q1-2025 Retail MarketBeat Report released on Tuesday, real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield noted that leasing of retail spaces increased to 24.08 lakh square feet in January-March this year, from 15.56 lakh square feet in the year-ago period.

The consultant said that high streets continued their domination of the leasing landscape, accounting for two-third of the total leasing volume at 16.9 lakh square feet, with premium high street locations in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad witnessing heightened interest from retailers.

Mall leasing, meanwhile, stood at 7.2 lakh square feet in the March quarter.

"India's retail sector is evolving at a dynamic pace, and the strong leasing activity in Q1 2025 reflects growing market confidence," Saurabh Shatdal, Managing Director, Capital Markets and Head-Retail, India said.

Shatdal further said "We're seeing a clear trend where retail demand is following new, quality supply -- cities with fresh developments are witnessing heightened transaction volumes," he added.

Beyond traditional malls, Shatdal said the new retail hubs are emerging within mixed-use developments, including office and residential complexes.

"With close to 7 million (70 lakh) square feet of new supply expected over the next three quarters -- largely comprising premium Grade A malls -- we expect this positive momentum to continue well into the year," he added.

In terms of category demand, the report observed that Entertainment and Fashion were the biggest space consumers in shopping malls, whereas Fashion and F&B were most prevalent in main streets across the top-8 cities -- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.

Commenting on the report, Akash Nagpal, VP-leasing, Trehan Iris, said, the demand for retail spaces in shopping malls across Delhi-NCR remains high.

Robin Pahuja, co-founder and director of ElitePro Infra, noted that Gurugram has recorded an impressive leasing volume, a growth that reflects the city's status as a preferred destination for businesses.

SPJ Group Chairman and CMD Pankaj Jain said the demand for premium retail spaces in NCR is rising. "Today's consumers are looking for experiences that stay for a lifetime, driving demand for well-integrated experiential retail hubs.