India Is Building More Malls, but the Bigger Bet Is on Better Malls

India could add 51.1 million sq ft of mall space by 2031. But will all of it work?

JLL expects India’s top seven cities to reach 143.2 million sq ft of mall stock by 2031, up from 92.1 million sq ft in H1 2026.

The more interesting part is the format:

• 56% of new supply is expected to be large-format malls
• around 30-35% of those malls could go to entertainment, F&B and services
• superior malls already have just 4.4% vacancy versus 11.2% across the wider stock
• the top 10 developers could control 44% of mall stock by 2031

That raises a bigger question than how much space India can build:

Will the next generation of malls create enough repeat footfall, tenant productivity and experience to justify the scale of development?

Vantage has also been tracking the institutionalisation of commercial real estate.

See Link -> “Six listed Indian REITs distribute Rs 3,136 crore to investors in Q1 FY27”

The article looks at the growing role of listed, income-producing commercial real estate, including retail assets held through Nexus Select Trust.

For developers, retailers and investors: what matters more in your market today: location, tenant mix, entertainment, F&B, accessibility or professional asset management?

And where do you see the greatest risk of too much mall supply?