India to have 31 new malls in two years on strong retail demand: Report

As many as 31 new shopping malls are expected to be operational by the end of next year on the back of strong revival in the retail sector, according to Anarock.

This year, a total of 15 new malls will enter the market spread across 12 cities and in 2023, another 16 new malls will come up.

In terms of area, property consultant Anarock said fresh retail space in shopping malls is expected to rise 76 per cent this year on an annual basis.

"Retail real estate is staging a strong comeback, with nearly 10.15 million square feet of new mall supply set to hit Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities in 2022, and another 7.25 million square feet in 2023," Anarock said in a statement.

In 2021, 5.76 million square feet of new retail real estate supply entered the country.

Chennai will see the highest supply of four new malls this year spread over an area of 2.55 million square feet. Other Tier 1 cities with new mall supply include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and Ghaziabad in NCR spanning 5.10 million square feet area.

Tier 2 and 3 cities include Baroda, Budaun, Indore, Nagpur and Udaipur with total area of about 2.50 million square feet.

"COVID-19 severely impacted the general economy - and retail in particular - in 2020. Brick-and-mortar retail stores in malls and high streets were hit hard, and a quick recovery seemed improbable," Pankaj Renjhen, COO and Joint MD of Anarock Retail, said.

Mall operators had to rethink their business plans and strategies due to disruption caused by the COVID pandemic.

"However, the massive nationwide vaccination drive resulted in a much milder third wave at the beginning of 2022 - and the withdrawal of restrictions allowed economic activities to restart. This has fuelled new growth in the retail sector," Renjhen said.

As consumers return to more normal shopping, Anarock said that India's retail real estate market is responding to significantly improved footfalls.

Malls are again witnessing high occupancy levels, and the requirement for more organised retail space is pronounced.

Going by the high leasing volumes by occupiers across categories and the momentum witnessed in the Tier II & III cities, mall developers are finishing their projects and rapidly adding new inventory.

In 2023, 16 new malls will hit the market across these cities -- Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Bhopal, Cuttack, Jamshedpur, Kochi, Lucknow and Vizag.