Why offline shopping needs to be far more experiential
Knight Frank released its report, 'Think India Think Retail 2024'. It has an ominous warning for shopping malls across the country. 'Ghost shopping malls with vacancy rates of 40% or more rose from 57 in 2022 to 64 in 2023 across eight major cities, with larger shopping centres preferred for an outing, and online shopping taking away some old retail charms,' states the report. There was a 238% y-o-y increase, it added, in the gross leasable area (GLA) of all shopping centres in prime Indian markets in 2023, even as ghost malls rose in number.
Big retail in India needs reinvention. The mall as a massive real estate complex is an American idea that goes back to a combination of consumer boom, timescape, landscape and culture that suited the West rather than India. Mall culture is changing in the West itself.
If an American works five days a week, with kids to raise and without help at home in sparsely populated cities, the mall may still be the place to catch a movie or for shopping. However, land costs and rentals were not real issues in the US, compared to disposable incomes that generated suitable demand.
That is not the case in Indian metros. Here, land is scarce, and demographic explosion and technological change are redefining lifestyles. If you are a mall-inclined metro shopper, chances are high that you have a conference call to attend. You can catch that movie on Netflix and shop online to save time, energy and money, and use some of that saving for a getaway to a resort rather than get stuck in traffic.
