The total mall vacancy in top 8 cities of India stands at 16.6%, with Hyderabad topping the chart with 22.2% vacancy, followed by Ahmedabad at 21.2% and NCR at 19.5%. The mall vacancy after the exclusion of ghost malls stands at 8.6%, shows the report.

Grade A malls continue to perform well, beating pre-pandemic consumption, footfalls, and occupancy levels. Due to higher vacancy in some Grade B and C malls, developers are re-evaluating leasing options for alternate uses.

Additionally, the ghost malls can be repurposed as huge wealth is trapped in them and they are usually built on coveted land parcels. Some of the solutions are: thrift stores, food and clothing banks, exhibition, presentation and event spaces; daycare, elder care and pet care; elementary and secondary schools; workforce training centres; and human development centres for government services.

India has a total mall stock of 8.6 mn sq m (92.9 mn sq ft) spread across 271 operational malls in the top eight markets – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, National Capital Region (NCR) and Pune.

As on H1 2022, NCR contributes nearly one-third or 34% of India's total mall stock, which is the highest across the top 8 markets. The number of malls across the top 8 markets of India has increased from 255 in pre-Covid period to 271 post-Covid. With this, the gross leasable area of malls has also increased from 15.5% to 16.6%.

Apparel constituted the top retailer category to have footprint in shopping malls, during both the pre-Covid and post-Covid periods with a 26% and 29% share in the overall pie, respectively.

At a pan India level, Grade A mall vacancy stands at 4.1% at the end of H1 2022. Grade B and Grade C vacancy stands at 16.1% and 33.5%, respectively. Chennai has the lowest vacancy of 9.9% across the markets under coverage, followed by Kolkata at 11.7% and Mumbai at 14%.

Grade A malls

21% ‘ghost malls’ in top 8 cities in dilapidated state: Knight Frank