Retail sector turns shopper-centric

Retail sector in Delhi has moved ahead, shedding off its traditional image and evolving into a more shopper-centric destination, especially in West and North Delhi. Brix Research surveys the scene
Retail sector has made a paradigm shift from being a row of shops located on the roadside to moving into showrooms in a four-walled structure. The "Mall culture" has given an extra edge to retail market. It took some time in the beginning for people to accept and adapt to the emerging culture, but gradually, shopping is now all bout a mall experience.
With change in shopping pattern, most consumers look for a more efficient and serviced shopping experience. Trends are changing, and now, nobody wants to roam around under a scorching sun and hop shops to purchase assorted items like groceries, toiletries and clothes, each from a different shop. Today, people want one-stop shopping where they find everything under one roof.
There are a few areas in Delhi whose profile has changed drastically after the advent of shopping malls and shopping complexes, like Rajouri Garden, Pitampura, Wazirpur, Rohini and Shalimar Bagh.
Malls spree — Rajouri Garden
Rajouri Garden in West Delhi is one of the busiest mall hubs. With five functional malls - Lifestyle, TDI, City Square, West Gate and Paragon Mall - the place is jam-packed on weekends and one can have a torrid time hunting for parking space near these complexes.
Santosh Kumar, a property dealer in West Delhi, says: "Earlier, in 2006-07, these malls were lying vacant and there were hardly any footfalls. But now, they have become very popular and receive a large number of footfalls."
Nisha Kapoor, a resident of Rajouri Garden, says: "I used to shop from Rajouri Garden's local market till 2006, but now I shop in only malls. It is actually very convenient to do shopping inside a mall and I also get a chance to meet friends as we can spend time together in food court."
Malls have changed lifestyle, thinking and shopping pattern of consumers. This has also increased commercial and residential values in Rajouri Garden. Another factor going in favour of these malls is connectivity - Rajouri Garden is on the Metro line, enabling people from other parts of Delhi to travel here easily.
Emerging shopping hub — Shalimar Bagh
Shalimar Bagh is the other area in North Delhi that saw a similar transition in retail sector. Commercial market of Shalimar Bagh was inactive and there was no popular shopping hub before the launch of malls. Then, two new shopping malls, DT City Center of DLF and Shop in Park of BPTP, came up and gave the area a feel-good factor.
According to Brix Research Vacancy Report, vacancy in the malls has been constantly decreasing from the time of opening with current occupancy at 70-75%. The number of footfalls has also increased and the malls have attracted residents of Shalimar Bagh and nearby areas like Ashok Vihar, Lawrence Road, Model Town and Wazirpur.
Pradeep Kumar, a local property dealer, says: "The DLF DT City Centre mall has started doing good business and is witnessing a decent amount of footfalls. Earlier, the mall was lying vacant owing to a slowdown in property market, but for the past 6-8 months, its occupancy is rising and is doing average business. This has also increased commercial and residential property values of the area."
Chain of developing malls — Rohini & Pitampura
A similar trend was seen in Rohini, where there are approximately eight malls in pipeline. Out of them, four are operational and rest are under construction. The malls which have opened are Metro Walk, North-Ex Mall, PVR Prashant Vihar Mall and Vikas Surya Mall.
According to the Brix report, vacancy in shopping malls, have continued to decrease from 2007 to 2009 in Rohini. Sajeev Kumar, a local realtor, says that malls in Rohini have developed and the number of footfalls has also increased. The commercial and residential values of Rohini experienced 15-20% increase over the last two years with these malls up and running.
Usha Kapoor, a resident of Rohini, said the coming of malls has given a new identity to the place and residents feel they are living in a high-end locality.
Wazirpur and Pitampura are the others areas where malls have played a major role in changing the areas' profile and in diverting population. Pitampura's malls like M2K Pitampura, North Square Mall, Aggarwal City Mall and Movie Time have attracted people from neighbourhood areas for shopping and dinning. A few malls are still developing and are not yet fully occupied; but it is expected by market agents that once market recovers from slowdown impact, all these malls will to do good business.
While malls have changed shopping style and demand of consumers, this has also given way to international brands to set up their showrooms in India. They have increased popularity as well as real estate values of the area as found by Brix Research analytics team.
Courtesy:- Times Property dtd:- 06-02-2009

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