India sees 230% surge in ghost shopping malls: Report
₹6,700 crore lost in potential sales in 2023, according to the 'Think India Think Retail 2024" report released Tuesday. Several shopping centers are struggling as an increasing number of consumers turn to online shopping and are shifting to larger centers for enhanced experiences. “Shopping centres in distress grapple with ongoing hurdles, compounded by fresh additions worsening their already elevated vacancy rates," the report said.
“This surge has led to a rise in the count of shopping centres labelled as ghost shopping centre stock," it added. The study covered 340 shopping centres and 58 high streets across 29 Indian cities. According to Knight Frank Research, India had a total shopping centre stock of 125.1 msf in 2023.
The National Capital Region led this rise with 5.3 million square feet (msf) of such space, a 58% jump year-on-year, followed by Mumbai with 2.1 msf (up 86%) and Bengaluru with 2 msf. Only Hyderabad reported a decrease. Underperforming centers were either demolished for redevelopment, closed permanently, or auctioned, it said.
“Such a scenario (rise in ghost shopping centres) offers institutional investors the chance to explore avenues for repurposing or revitalizing their retail portfolios, while developers can seize opportunities to monetize these assets through repurposing or redevelopment efforts," the report said. Shopping centre vacancies across eight Indian cities, however, improved from 16.6% in 2022 to 15.7% in 2023. Excluding ghost shopping centres from the stock in the top eight cities, the shopping centre vacancy in India improved dramatically due to the better performance of Grade A malls and reasonable occupancy in Grade B assets.
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