Shopping Discovery

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The worst of the pandemic is behind us for now and in-store retail (when you walk into a store on the street, at the airport or in a mall, and make a purchase) seems to be on a recovery path. 

In one sip, shopping malls have started recovering faster than they did after the first wave, supported by a rapid easing of restrictions as well as pent-up demand.

Tell Me More

Sure, let industry veterans take it from here. 

🎙 "Retail is getting back to normal, and business is bouncing back. Almost 70-80% of it is back,” says Abhinav C Ajmera, Omaxe Ltd. 

🎙 "We at DLF Emporio and Chanakya, have recorded the highest footfall in the last 13 years. The sales for most of our partners have increased from 50-300%, depending on the brands you look at.", says Prashant Gaurav Gupta, Head Luxury Malls, DLF Limited. 

🎙 "Pre-pandemic, the fashion industry was optimistic in 2019. We thought 2020 would be a good year for us because the entire inventory and cost planning was done, but when we entered the pandemic, everything went to a standstill. 2021 has given us a sigh of relief.", says Vivek Srivastava, Benetton Group. 

Key Trends And Takeaways

🛒 With travel restrictions axing international shopping destinations from the usual list, luxury retail across Indian malls and high streets is flourishing. 

🛒 A sense of confidence has returned in consumers, who are finally making purchase decisions that have been on hold since the pandemic began.

🛒 Technology is here to stay and embracing tech - websites, PWAs (progressive web apps) and apps is the way ahead to achieve growth from here on. 

🛒 Consumer expectations from stores have changed, meaning that the way they will consume, the categories they choose, and the wallet share per category have all changed, for good.

🛒 With lower costs and higher profitability, Tier II and Tier III cities are the growth hotspots, feel retailers and mall developers alike.