5 things to know about India's ghost shopping malls
What are ghost malls?
Ghost shopping malls are low-performing malls with more than 40% vacancy. Such malls have increased from 57 to 63 in 2022 across eight major cities.
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As many as 64 shopping malls with about 13.3 million square feet of gross leasable area have been categorized as 'Ghost Shopping Centre' in 2023. This has increased by almost 59% from 8.4 mn sq ft in 2022.
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Why don't shoppers prefer Grade C malls?
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Indian shoppers prefer Grade A malls over Grade C malls due to online shopping. Unappealing brands, ineffective management, lack of maintenance, inadequate infrastructure and uninviting exteriors are other reasons for a decline in consumer footfall.
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Grade C shopping center assets in NCR, Mumbai, Pune demolished
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According to a report by Knight Frank India titled 'Think IndiaThink Retail 2024: Shopping Centre and High Street Dynamics Across 29 Cities' in 2023 some Grade C shopping center assets in Tier 1 cities such as the NCR, Mumbai and Pune were demolished.
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The malls were demolished to develop the construction of residential inventory to monetize the land parcels as demand for residential units has been strong since the pandemic.
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Cities with maximum ghost malls
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As per the survey, 64 abandoned malls span across eight cities. Delhi-NCR has the highest concentration with 21 ghost shopping centers, followed by Bengaluru with 12, Mumbai with 10, Kolkata with 6, Hyderabad with 5, Ahmedabad with 4, Chennai and Pune with 3 each.
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Challenges in repurposing ghost malls
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Regulatory hurdles such as zoning restrictions, permit conversions, strata ownership, and financial constraints can pose challenges in repurposing ghost malls.