Mumbai, Dec 9 (IANS): Driven by the retail sector’s unprecedented growth amid favourable economic factors and rising affluence, mall vacancies in India are now at just 8.3 per cent, down from 15.5 per cent in 2021 as demand continually outstrips supply, according to a report on Monday.

The first half of the current year mirrored the leasing momentum seen in the past two years, with over three million square feet leased across major cities.

The next few years will witness major supply addition across all these cities, with the Delhi-NCR accounting for the majority, according to an Anarock report.

“Vacancy in prominent malls continues to be on the decline owing to limited supply and robust leasing. Superior malls across the country are operating almost full capacity,” said Anuj Kejriwal, CEO and MD–Retail, Industrial and Logistics, Anarock Group.

Major national and global brands are keen to take up quality spaces in successful malls and high streets across cities.

The apparel and accessories and food and beverages categories remain the dominant segments. However, exclusive stores for watches and jewellery have also witnessed remarkable growth during the year, accounting for nearly 6 per cent of the total retail leasing volume, the report mentioned.

“Retailers and brands continue to prefer smaller spaces as nearly 70 per cent of the leases were for spaces ad-measuring up to 2,500 square feet,” said Kejriwal.

That said, as fresh supply gets added in the coming years, larger spaces will garner an increasing share of total leased area, he added.

The highest share of upcoming supply is planned in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Hyderabad in the next 4-5 years. Together they account for over 85 per cent of the total incoming supply.

In the meantime, rental values across prominent high streets are on the rise, and are expected to continue the ascend till quality new supply is added. Demand is higher than supply for the third consecutive year, the report said.