Is Indian mall culture on the wane?

Old order changes yielding places to new – this is an age-old maxim. The same aphorism applies for India too and definitely the nation has changed lots in all these years, especially in the sphere of economy. Truly speaking, India has come of age and the journey from a despised Hindu rate of financial growth to the existing robust rates has been arduous for this cradle of human civilization. Nevertheless, there has been another significant change and it’s the rise of mall culture in urban India, expanding its tentacles to the rural sectors in stages.

Perhaps I don’t have to make you figure out a mall. A shopping mall or shopping centre is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area – a modern, indoor version of the traditional marketplace. This is a mere definition.

What is the current situation in India then? The question is quite obvious, increase in numbers and general attraction stimulated the local economies to a large extent.

Well, the situation can’t be termed as good in any way. In accordance with the annual retail report by real estate consultant Cushman and Wakefield Inc., mall supply this year fell short by 60%, as only 5.7 million sq. ft of space was delivered across major cities in India. As per the report, in the region of 9 million sq. ft of expected mall supply for the year was deferred to the future, because of poor demand from retailers.

What is more, among the proposed 44 malls at the beginning of the first quarter (January-March), about 18 were delivered by the year-end. The overall vacancy rate for the major cities as of December was 17% compared with a 16.7% vacancy rate in December last year.

Let’s analyze the top Indian cities. The report states Mumbai had the largest share of this year’s mall supply at 1.8 million sq. ft, followed by Hyderabad (1.1 million sq. ft) and the National Capital Region (NCR) (0.9 million sq. ft). Well, Silicon Valley of India or Bangalore came across the highest mall supply deferral with 80% less mall supply than what was expected.