Experience-led retail rises sharply as India’s newest malls evolve into integrated fashion, lifestyle and community destinations
India’s next generation of malls may be becoming increasingly experience-led, but fashion and lifestyle continue to remain the single largest force shaping leasing, consumer engagement and brand expansion across organised retail.
According to the latest IMAGES Group Research report, India’s New Retail Landmarks: The Malls That Defined 2025–26, fashion and lifestyle categories continue to account for nearly 45–50% of the overall retail mix across most of the eight premium mall developments studied in the report—despite the rapid rise of F&B, entertainment and experiential consumption.
At the same time, nearly 42% of the overall allocation across these developments is increasingly being directed towards experience-led categories such as dining and cafés, entertainment and multiplexes, gaming zones, wellness concepts, family engagement spaces and community-driven experiences, highlighting how India’s new malls are evolving beyond traditional shopping destinations into integrated lifestyle and leisure ecosystems.
The report, which analyses nearly ~7 million sq. ft. of new Grade-A retail development and over 1,500 brands and stores, reveals how India’s newest malls are evolving into layered fashion and lifestyle ecosystems where global labels, national brands, regional champions and digitally native concepts coexist within highly curated retail environments.
Fashion Continues to Anchor Mall Economics
One of the report’s key findings is that while entertainment and experiential categories are rapidly gaining share, fashion and lifestyle continue to remain the foundational pillars of organised retail expansion.
Across the eight developments studied, mall merchandising is increasingly being built around fast fashion and youth retail, occasion wear and ethnic fashion, premium bridge-to-luxury brands, beauty and wellness retail, footwear and accessories, sports and athleisure, kidswear and family fashion ecosystems, along with contemporary lifestyle and home concepts.
The featured developments analysed in the report include Unity One Elegante, Delhi; Sky City Mall, Mumbai; Avenue Mall, Erode; DLF Midtown Plaza, Delhi; Inorbit Mall, Visakhapatnam; Inorbit Mall, Hubballi; Felix Plaza, Gurugram; and Lakeshore Y Junction Mall, Hyderabad.
The report notes that India’s new malls are no longer merely leasing spaces to brands; they are increasingly curating ecosystems that balance aspiration, accessibility, engagement and long-term consumer relevance.
Fashion Stores Are Becoming Experience Destinations
A major trend highlighted in the report is the growing investment by fashion and lifestyle brands in creating immersive and experiential store environments.
Not only global brands, but also new-age Indian and Gen Z-focused D2C brands are increasingly building stores centred around interactive discovery, community engagement, café integration, technology-led experiences, Instagrammable environments, and deeper personalisation and storytelling.
The report notes that experiential retail is no longer limited to luxury or international labels. Indian brands are now increasingly being perceived at par with global players in terms of visual merchandising, store design, innovation and consumer engagement.
Indian Brands Are Emerging Stronger Than Ever
One of the most striking findings in the report is the growing dominance of Indian-origin brands across several of the featured developments.
At DLF Midtown Plaza, for instance, the brand mix is dominated by Indian retailers, with nearly 92% of the brands being Indian—highlighting the increasing strength, confidence and premiumisation of domestic fashion and lifestyle players.
Similarly, Unity One Elegante Mall has allocated nearly 61% of its Gross Leasable Area (GLA) towards Fashion & Lifestyle, underlining the continuing importance of these categories within organised retail ecosystems.
The report highlights how Indian fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands are increasingly competing alongside global names not merely on pricing or accessibility, but through stronger store experiences, sharper brand storytelling, product innovation, evolved design language, deeper consumer engagement and seamless omnichannel integration.
New Malls Are Becoming the ‘Market’ for New-to-Market Brands
Another defining trend captured in the report is the growing role of new-generation malls as launchpads for first-time market entries.
Rather than relying solely on established anchor retailers, several mall developers are consciously integrating emerging D2C brands, new-to-city labels, international first entries, contemporary Indian concepts and experimental retail formats to create differentiated and discovery-led shopping environments.
The report notes that Inorbit Mall, Visakhapatnam alone witnessed 65+ new-to-market brand entries with its launch—reflecting the growing appetite for organised retail and aspirational consumption in emerging markets.
The remaining seven developments featured in the report have also attracted a substantial number of first-time entries across fashion, beauty, F&B and lifestyle categories, collectively reinforcing how India’s newest malls are increasingly becoming “The Market” for brand expansion and discovery.
Global, National & Regional Brands Are Coexisting Like Never Before
The report highlights a major structural shift underway in mall leasing strategies: the emergence of highly balanced retail ecosystems integrating global, Indian national and strong regional brands within the same environment.
While global brands continue to remain important for aspiration and destination positioning, mall developers are increasingly balancing their retail ecosystems through strong Indian national brands that drive scale and repeat visitation, regional retailers that bring cultural relevance and local loyalty, and emerging D2C concepts that add freshness and engagement to the overall consumer experience.
The report notes that in several Tier-2 and emerging consumption markets, regional fashion and lifestyle retailers are often performing competitively alongside larger national chains due to stronger local understanding and sharper price-value positioning.
Tier-2 Markets Are Becoming Aspirational Fashion Hubs
The study further captures how cities such as Hubballi, Erode and Visakhapatnam are rapidly evolving into organised fashion and lifestyle markets, with developers increasingly introducing premium fashion brands, beauty retailers, youth-focused labels, global lifestyle concepts, and experience-led dining and entertainment formats into these emerging consumption centres.
Industry Leaders on the Future of Retail Destinations
Commenting on evolving consumer expectations, Pushpa Bector, Senior Executive Director & Business Head, DLF Retail, said, “Today’s consumers are looking for spaces where they can do more than just shop — they want to dine, unwind and spend meaningful time with family and friends.”
Tanu Prasad, CEO Malls, Oberoi Realty, highlighted the growing role of aspiration-led suburban retail ecosystems, saying, “Suburban retail today is about accessibility, aspiration, experience, and building destinations that people actively choose to engage with.”
Rajneesh Mahajan, Chief Executive Officer, Inorbit Malls (India), pointed to the rising strength of emerging consumption markets, noting, “Emerging markets are not just ready, but eager for high-quality, immersive retail environments.”
India’s Future Malls Are Fashion, Lifestyle & Community Ecosystems
The report concludes that India’s next-generation malls are evolving far beyond conventional shopping infrastructure into integrated fashion, lifestyle and community ecosystems where retail, entertainment, leisure and cultural engagement increasingly operate together.
The report is available at the IMAGES Book Store.
