Fashion and apparel brands dominated direct-to-consumer (D2C) retail leasing in the first half of 2025, accounting for nearly 60% of new leases, according to a CBRE South Asia report. Homeware and furnishings and jewellery each held 12%, while health and personal care made up 6%.
The report, titled India’s D2C Revolution: The New Retail Order, highlighted a sharp rise in the share of retail leasing by D2C brands, which more than doubled to 18% in H1 2025, compared with 8% in H1 2024 and 15% in H2 2024.
Sectoral dominance
“While online shopping continues to grow, physical purchases still account for a majority of transactions, making omnichannel growth important,” said Anshuman Magazine, chairman & CEO – India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE. He described the offline expansion as the mainstreaming of D2C brands.
“While online shopping continues to grow, physical purchases still account for a majority of transactions, making omnichannel growth important,” said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO for India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa at CBRE. He described the offline expansion as the mainstreaming of D2C brands.
Shifting location preferences
In terms of location preferences, D2C players are moving beyond traditional mall spaces. High streets emerged as the preferred format, making up approximately 46% of total leasing in H1 2025, followed by malls at 40%, and standalone outlets at 14%, the report said.
Among major cities, Delhi-NCR led retail leasing activity with a 26% share from January to June 2025, followed by Bengaluru at 22% and Hyderabad at 18%.
These digital-first brands, which saw rapid growth between 2020 and 2022 fueled by pandemic-driven online shopping, are now diversifying their presence through formats including pop-ups, flagship outlets, showrooms, and franchise stores to deepen market penetration, the report added.