New Delhi, Nov 14 (IANS) India’s retail sector saw robust demand in Q3 2025 with gross leasing of 3.2 million square feet across the top seven cities, a 65 per cent year‑on‑year growth, a report said on Friday.

On a quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) basis, the Q3 gross leasing volume reflects a 22 per cent growth, the report from commercial real estate firm JLL India said.

Delhi-NCR led accounted for 35 per cent of Q3 leasing, driven largely by two newly constructed malls.

Further, India’s leasing during the quarter helped lift its nine‑month gross leasing to 8.9 million square feet, which is 110 per cent of 2024’s full‑year total.

With a total new supply infusion of 1.5 million sq. ft in Delhi NCR and Hyderabad, retailers that were waiting for expanding footprint due to supply constraints in the past, were finally able to move ahead with new store openings in key micro markets.

Hyderabad followed Delhi accounting for 12 per cent of Q3 leasing while Mumbai and Bengaluru logged 0.6 million and 0.4 million square feet of retail space take‑up.

During the July-September quarter, fashion and apparel accounted for 35 per cent of leasing, followed by food and beverage at 16 per cent. The daily needs and grocery accounted for 11 per cent of leasing, the release said.

“Q3 saw heightened demand from daily needs and grocery retailers, who typically require substantial space allocations and frequently serve as anchor tenants in premium retail developments,” said Dr. Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head of Research & REIS, India, JLL.

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands have been making significant investments in their click-and-mortar strategies, progressively expanding their physical store presence in fashion and apparel, jewellery, cosmetics and wellness categories, the release noted

“Looking ahead, D2C brands are positioned to capture an increasingly larger portion of the overall gross leasing activity,” Das said.

–IANS

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