India's retail leasing surges 10.5 pc to four‑year high

New Delhi, Aug 4 (AHN) India’s retail sector recorded its highest half‑yearly leasing volume in four years as gross leasing across the top seven markets rose 10.5 per cent to 6.27 million square feet in H1 2026, a report said on Tuesday.

India’s retail market has exhibited a resilient growth momentum amid multiple external factors that could have adversely impacted the demand trajectory, the report from commercial real estate services firm JLL said.

Demand for retail space remained intact between January and June 2026, and Q1 gross leasing stood at 3.09 million square feet as retailer expansion continued amid tight supply conditions.

Leasing momentum strengthened in Q2 2026, rising 2.7 per cent sequentially to 3.18 million sq ft as retailers continued expansion driven largely by domestic brands, which accounted for 79.1 per cent of the total leasing.

Across India’s top seven cities, Mumbai (29 per cent) and Delhi NCR (24 per cent) accounted for 53 per cent of the H1 2026 leasing volume. Coupled with Bengaluru (23 per cent), these three markets anchored the total demand for retail spaces, collectively accounting for more than 75 per cent share.

While the new shopping mall supply remained limited in Q2 2026, availability of new retail spaces in peripheral precincts of Delhi NCR and Hyderabad provided expansion opportunities for retailers looking to expand their physical store footprint.

Overall, new shopping mall supply in H1 2026 totalled 0.82 million square feet, representing a 64 per cent y-o-y decline from the robust supply recorded in H1 2025.

For the past six to nine months, top retail brands have been struggling to expand due to a lack of quality spaces in shopping malls driving them to evaluate alternate formats for store expansion.

Demand for organised retail spaces has strengthened on the back of experience-driven retail preferences by the consumers, with malls increasing their share in overall gross leasing from 38.9 per cent in H1 2025 to 43.1 per cent in H1 2026.

—AHN

aar/ag