No chores, it’s food, fun and games at the mall

The shift is reshaping the mall business as developers seek categories that can bring consumers in frequently and keep them there for longer. But data also show that the rise of F&B and experiences is not coming primarily at the expense of fashion. Apparel remains the largest category, accounting for 33% of mall leasing space in H12026, compared with 35% in 2020.

The biggest loser has been the department store and hypermarket, whose share has collapsed from 14% to 4% over the same period, shows Anarock data. “Entertainment is the standout, growing the fastest of all categories over this period and now sitting at its highest sustained share (17%) since the 2022 post-Covid spike,” said Anuj Kejriwal, CEO, retail and CEO-Europe, Middle East & Africa, Anarock Group.

Entertainment’s share briefly surged to 32% in 2022 following the lifting of Covid restrictions and pent-up demand for cinemas and entertainment, before settling at 17% in H12026. Similarly, F&B reached 22% in 2025, before easing to 15%.

Shift in Priorities

“Consumer expectations have evolved significantly over the past few years and malls today are much more than shopping destinations,” said Pushpa Bector, group executive director and business head, DLF Retail, which operates DLF Mall of India and DLF Promenade in NCR. “People are looking for places where they can shop, dine, catch a movie, spend time with family and discover something new — all in a single visit,” she added.

Shibu Philips, director, LuLu Group India, which has malls in south India and Lucknow, said at LuLu, F&B space has nearly tripled from around 10% when its first mall opened in 2013 to 28% today. Philips said food courts have become larger, while microbreweries, chef-led concepts and international cuisines have become more prominent. Entertainment and leisure have also grown to around 15-20% of mall space, with gaming centres, indoor adventure parks, interactive sports bars and immersive technology spaces having larger footprints. The company has opened nine malls covering around 7.5 mn sq ft of retail area since 2013 and is currently constructing another five. “When we started, it was a transactional sort of a relationship where consumers came, bought and went back,” said Philips, adding that the rise of online shopping forced malls to rethink that model.

The structural change is significant enough to influence how new malls are being planned. Anarock expects upcoming malls to allocate more than 50% of space to non-traditional retail such as food and entertainment.

At the smaller end of the organised mall market, Elan Group’s Gurugram properties have seen nearly 4X growth in footfall over two-three years, with F&B emerging as the strongest driver. “We are increasingly allocating 20-25% of our space to F&B, with a further nearly 20% dedicated to entertainment and experiential concepts,” said Ankit Sharma, senior vice-president, leasing, Elan Group.

The restaurant industry is seeing the same change. At SOCIAL, Satyajit Dhingra, chief operating officer, Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality, said the mall customer increasingly builds several occasions into one visit. “Food and beverage has always been part of the mall journey, but today it plays a much stronger role in shaping the mood and experience of that visit,” Dhingra said.

Vikrant Batra, director & co-founder, Batra Bros, which owns Cafe Delhi Heights, said developers are increasingly recognising that F&B is not merely a support category for retail. “It is one of the strongest drivers of footfalls, dwell time and repeat visits. However, the answer is not simply to add more restaurants. Malls need distinctive brands that people remember, seek out and are willing to visit specifically,” said Batra.

“We have been achieving around 14% same store sales growth, which is among the strongest in the market. At our mall outlets, we are also seeing healthy growth in customer volumes,” said Sumit Dhiman, president, Daryaganj Hospitality.

PVR INOX recorded around 150 million admissions in FY26, as per Gautam Dutta, CEO-revenue & operations, PVR INOX. Weekend traffic remains higher, but offers have strengthened weekday traffic, with some weekdays achieving occupancy comparable with weekends. “Cinemas are a destination for shared experiences, a reason to step out, spend time together and engage with entertainment beyond home screens,” said Dutta.

Modernizing Retail

At KidZania India, housed only in malls, the average dwell time is 5-10 hours. “Families are increasingly looking for immersive, participative experiences where they can spend meaningful time together, rather than simply consume entertainment,” said Tarandeep Singh Sekhon, chief business officer, KidZania India.

TEEG India, which operates Timezone and Play ‘N’ Learn, now has more than 90 interactive gaming, arcade and children’s play venues, with Timezone alone at 74 venues.

The traditional arcade is also being expanded into bowling, laser tag, bumper cars and VR. “Over the past five years, we’ve seen a fundamental shift in why people visit malls. Shopping is no longer the sole purpose, with consumers increasingly seeking social spaces that cannot be replicated online,” said Abbas Jabalpurwala, CEO, TEEG India.

The experience economy is also changing the physical retail store. At Decathlon, customers use experience zones to test bicycles, sports equipment and activewear before buying. “Quick commerce solves for immediacy, but sports retail requires trust, fit, and touch,” said Rahul Phukan, business development director, Decathlon Sports India.

The change, however, does not mean fashion is disappearing from malls. Apparel remains the largest category, and the Anarock data shows its share has remained broadly stable over six years.

Fashion remains an anchor at DLF, but F&B has become a larger part of the proposition, said Bector of DLF. DLF Retail said footfalls across its existing portfolio have grown at a steady double-digit pace over the past two to three years, with an average of 5 million visitors a month.

India currently has around 650 operational malls, excluding those that have shut down or converted to other uses. Of the more than 250 malls built during the 2005-2015 mall boom, 20-22% later shut down, were repositioned or converted, after vacancy rates in weaker properties crossed 30-35%.