- Malls increase leasing share to 48%, while high streets capture 52%
- Mumbai leads with 24.5% share followed by Hyderabad and Delhi NCR at 21% each
- Vacancy levels drop to 7.25% overall, marking the second consecutive quarter without new Grade A supply
India's retail sector continued to demonstrate strength in Q3 2025 with gross leasing volume (GLV) reaching 2.41 million square feet (MSF) across the top 8 cities, according to Cushman & Wakefield's Q3 Retail Market Beat Report. This represents a 7.6% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) increase.
Year-to-date (YTD) leasing volumes touched 7.02 MSF, reflecting a 25.2% y-o-y growth. At this pace, the sector is well-positioned to surpass the 2024 full-year GLV of 7.88 MSF, underscoring steady occupier demand and healthy momentum across both high streets and malls.
In Q3 2025, malls absorbed 1.16 MSF, accounting for 48% of total leasing, marking around 15% q-o-q growth. High streets accounted for 52% share, with 1.25 MSF leased, recording a 1.5% increase q-o-q.
Notably, this was the second straight quarter without any new Grade A mall completions, keeping YTD additions at 1.3 MSF. This supply constraint pushed vacancy levels down 91 bps q-o-q to 7.25% with Grade A+ malls dipping further by 45 bps to 2.27%, highlighting the need for fresh inventory.
Mall rents, meanwhile, held steady q-o-q, while main streets registered a 1% quarterly uptick.
Domestic retailers continued to dominate leasing activity with an 82.5% share, showcasing the strength and expansion of home-grown brands. International players accounted for 17.5%, focusing largely on malls to benefit from high-visibility and professional management.
Category-wise, fashion (21.4%), food & beverage (F&B) (19.3%) and entertainment (15.8%) segments emerged as major demand drivers.
At the city-level, Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Hyderabad led the activity in Q3. Mumbai posted a 24.5% share (0.6 MSF) while Hyderabad and Delhi NCR followed closely at 21% each (0.51 MSF). Together, these three markets captured nearly two-thirds of YTD leasing.
|
Gross Leasing Volume (MSF) |
Q2 2025 (MSF) |
Q3 2025 (MSF) |
Q3 2025 % share |
QOQ (%) |
|
Ahmedabad |
0.04 |
0.06 |
2.7% |
59.2% |
|
Bengaluru |
0.18 |
0.18 |
7.3% |
-1.4% |
|
Chennai |
0.16 |
0.16 |
6.8% |
5.0% |
|
Delhi NCR |
0.30 |
0.51 |
21.3% |
70.1% |
|
Hyderabad |
0.76 |
0.51 |
21.2% |
-32.9% |
|
Kolkata |
0.05 |
0.06 |
2.5% |
24.1% |
|
Mumbai |
0.52 |
0.59 |
24.5% |
13.1% |
|
Pune |
0.23 |
0.33 |
13.8% |
43.0% |
|
Total |
2.24 |
2.41 |
|
7.6% |
Gautam Saraf, Executive Managing Director – Mumbai & New Business, Cushman & Wakefield, said:
“India's retail sector continues its growth trajectory, driven by evolving consumer preferences and growing demand for quality retail spaces. The rising interest in fashion, F&B and entertainment categories points to a maturing consumer base with higher disposable incomes. This environment is encouraging domestic retailers to expand their footprint while attracting more international brands to India's high-potential market.”
He added, “Current supply constraints, while challenging in the near term, also underscore the sector’s underlying strength. The pipeline of ~3 MSF in Q4 and ~15.5 MSF (Q4 25-2027) should help restore balance. Overall, we're seeing a market whose fundamentals remain encouraging for sustained growth.”
City specific insight from the reports-
Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad recorded retail leasing volume of 0.06 in Q3 2025, reflecting 59% increase on q-o-q basis. Main streets dominated leasing activity with an 88% share of total lease volumes, and the malls contributed 12%.
Bengaluru: Bengaluru recorded retail leasing volumes of around ~0.18 MSF. With a share of nearly 89%, malls dominated retail leasing in the quarter. Mall lease volumes jumped by nearly 59% on a quarterly basis. With a share of 11%, main street lease volume was relatively lower compared to the previous quarters.
Chennai: Chennai’s retail market maintained healthy momentum in Q3, recording a leasing volume of ~0.16 MSF, an 8% y-o-y growth. Mainstreets dominated leasing activity with an 88% share, recording 0.14 MSF of leasing - up 29% over the previous quarter Malls recorded a leasing volume of 0.02 MSF.
Delhi/NCR: Retail leasing in Delhi NCR stood at ~0.5 MSF in Q3 2025 – an increase of 70% q-o-q and 88% y-o-y basis. Out of the 179,000 sq. ft. of leasing witnessed in malls, ~29,000 was fresh space take-up, while the rest were churn or renewals Main-street sites secured almost two-thirds of transaction volume in Q3-25.
Hyderabad: Retail leasing in Hyderabad rose to ~0.51 MSF in Q3 2025, up 3.5% y-o-y. YTD activity totaled 2.04 MSF, reflecting a 9.3% increase over the same period in 2024. High streets accounted for the bulk of leasing this quarter, given the limited availability of Grade A mall supply.
Kolkata: The city recorded retail leasing volumes of 0.06 MSF in Q3, a 24% growth on a quarterly basis. In absence of adequate space across the city’s Grade A malls, main streets continued to heavily dominate retail leasing activity with a share of around 98%.
Mumbai: Retail leasing activity in Q3 2025 reached 0.59 MSF, witnessing an increase of ~13% q-o-q and a significant growth of 2.7x y-o-y. Malls remained the preferred retail format, recording 0.49 MSF of leasing and representing a substantial 84% share of overall leasing activity. Mainstreet retail leasing accounted for 0.10 MSF during the quarter, representing about 16% of total leasing transactions.
Pune: In Q3 2025, retail leasing activity totaled ~0.33 MSF, with malls accounting for 85% of this at 0.28 MSF and the remaining 15% contributed by high streets. The city saw a 43% q-o-q increase in overall retail leasing and a remarkable 85% rise y-o-y.