India's Retail Leasing Surge: Q3 2025 Sees 65% YoY Growth

The retail sector in India has shown remarkable strength this year. According to recent data, India’s retail leasing jumps 65% YoY in Q3 2025 to 3.2 million sq ft, reflecting a strong revival in the country’s commercial activity. This growth highlights the rising demand for modern retail spaces, expansion by domestic brands, and rapid development across metro cities. The momentum is especially strong in Delhi-NCR retail market and Hyderabad real estate, which together account for more than half of the total leasing. This blog explains the trends shaping retail leasing India using simple and formal language.

The retail sector has seen continuous improvement after the pandemic years, but Q3 2025 has shown the most impressive numbers. A total of 3.2 million sq ft was leased during the quarter, showing strong confidence from retailers. The rise of fashion, electronics, food brands, and luxury labels has played a major role in shaping commercial real estate activity. Several brands are expanding into tier-1 and tier-2 cities, leading to stable demand for better spaces. This trend confirms the positive direction of Q3 2025 real estate performance in India.

The biggest highlight of the report is that Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad lead India’s retail leasing with 57% share. Delhi-NCR has always been a strong retail hub due to premium malls, high street markets, and a large customer base. Hyderabad has grown rapidly due to new malls, strong IT workforce, and rising disposable income. These two markets together shaped the majority of retail space transactions in the quarter. The retail space demand in Delhi NCR continues to increase with new store launches, while Hyderabad retail leasing growth remains stable due to sustained consumer spending.

The India retail leasing report Q3 2025 highlights that demand is not limited to large malls alone. Retailers are also exploring mixed-use developments, community centers, and emerging shopping districts. Domestic brands are showing aggressive expansion plans, especially in fashion and lifestyle categories. Quick-service restaurants, home décor brands, and direct-to-consumer companies are also leasing more spaces. This shift has created strong momentum in retail real estate performance YoY, proving that the sector has fully recovered from earlier slowdowns.

There are several reasons behind the exceptional performance of retail leasing India this year. First, consumer spending has increased in both metro and non-metro areas. Second, many brands prefer physical stores now to build stronger customer experiences. Third, global brands are entering India, creating new demand for high-quality retail spaces. Fourth, many malls have upgraded their interiors and layouts, attracting premium tenants. These factors explain why retail leasing surged in India and top markets leading the demand throughout 2025.

The commercial property trends India for retail show a clear shift toward spacious layouts, better lighting, enhanced security, and digitally enabled store formats. Mall owners are focusing on experiential zones, food courts, gaming areas, and entertainment spaces to attract visitors. Retailers want flexible areas that support both physical and online operations. As a result, developers are redesigning shopping centers with improved infrastructure. This trend has created steady leasing activity and influenced the overall retail real estate growth trends across India in Q3 2025.

While metro cities continue to lead, tier-2 cities have also recorded healthy leasing numbers. Cities like Lucknow, Jaipur, Coimbatore, and Chandigarh are seeing strong demand for quality retail formats. Brands want to reach new customers and are actively expanding into these emerging markets. However, metros such as Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Bengaluru remain the largest contributors to commercial real estate leasing. The combination of established malls, high-street locations, and strong purchasing power keeps these cities at the top.

One important trend highlighted in the reports is the expansion of domestic and luxury brands. The rise of Indian fashion designers, homegrown lifestyle brands, and premium footwear labels has boosted new store openings. Luxury brands are expanding in upscale malls as consumer interest grows. Direct-to-consumer brands, which earlier operated mostly online, are now leasing stores for better visibility. This movement has supported the strong performance of India’s commercial retail market sees strong rebound in 2025, contributing to faster growth.

Developers and mall operators are playing a big role in this leasing boom. Many malls are undergoing upgrades to enhance visitor experience. They are offering better facilities, spacious store layouts, and flexible leasing options. Developers are also launching new large-scale retail projects in Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad to meet growing demand. These improvements directly support the rising retail space demand in Delhi NCR and the consistent Hyderabad retail leasing growth. With better infrastructure and improved customer flow, these malls attract long-term tenants.

The future looks promising for retail leasing India as both domestic and international brands continue expanding. With growth in consumption and lifestyle changes, retailers are confident about long-term opportunities. New mall projects planned for 2025 and 2026 will further support the demand. The strong contribution of Delhi-NCR retail market and Hyderabad real estate is expected to continue. As India becomes one of the largest consumer markets, the retail leasing industry is likely to remain active and dynamic, supported by positive market sentiment.

India recorded strong retail activity in Q3 2025, with 3.2 million sq ft leased, marking a 65% YoY jump. The surge was driven by domestic brands, luxury labels, and expanding D2C companies. Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad led with 57% share, supported by strong consumer demand and modern retail spaces. The India retail leasing report Q3 2025 highlights rising leasing in malls, high streets, and mixed-use centers. With steady commercial property trends India, the country’s retail market continues to rebound strongly in 2025.