Success Parameters of Malls in India

• @kw
• 13 Jan 2021

Indian retail market is fifth largest in the world and is most attractive destination as an emerging market. The urbanization and development in 2-tier and 3-tier cities are bringing a complete revolution in the mall culture in India. The retail sector is getting more and more organized with development of malls. The share of retail trade is about 10% of GDP, which amounts to US$ 600 billion. Although mall culture is rising day by day in India but all malls do not experience success. There are some malls which are not able to attract retailers for many reasons that should be known by a builder.

Still the proportion of organized retail market is much lower than the un-organized retail section comprising of only 5% of the total retail market. But the surge is yet to come in large-format malls and branded retail stores. The development of mega malls have started in a big way in south of India, followed by north, west and east. The exponential growth are going to happen in the next few years with large number of corporate and overseas companies taking interest in opening their retail chain in India. MNC\'s are coming up with their exclusive branded stores in these large format malls.

As per some leading property consultants in agreement with the \'shopping centers association of  India\', more than 100 mega malls came up with over 30 million sq.ft construction  between 2009 and  2010  which indicates the speed at which the development in mall construction took place and the total area for Indian mall is expected to rise to 95 millions sq.ft only in the 7 cities including  Delhi NCR, Hyderabad and Bengaluru  by 2021 besides the area that will be added in tier II and tier III cities.

Despite of the exponential growth in mall constructions there are many malls in India which failed due to variety of reasons, which include wrong selection of location, lack of parking space, wrong tenant mix, not having facilities such as food court, cinema hall and such other entertainment zones.

India is poised to become the third largest retail market with consumer spending growing to Rs.421 trillion roughly by 2030, a massive growth by any standard. The malls constructions have also picked up speed in cities like Ahmadabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh and Indore.

Positioning

of mall is very important. Building a super luxury mall in a place that does not have much spending power with people is not worth and may cause a complete boomerang. The mall shops become very costly and investors shy away and further the rental charges for shops in such malls work out to be expensive. Location of a mall is thus a deciding factor for success.

Good Visibility

is another factor that helps a mall run. The consumer prefers to visit a mall located adjacent to a broad road. It is also very important to have the right mix of tenants at the right place to ensure smooth flow of customers. Normally a customer visits a mall to get all his or her requirements and won\'t prefer to hop between malls to make their purchases.

Promotion and Marketing

is essential to get desired footfalls. The mall administration should conduct promotional activities in the mall premises which include food festival, exhibitions, film promotions helps in attracting get accustomed. The real challenge is to regularly keep interest of customers and be in the news. The best way these days is to announce events through social media and mailers. Organizing different competitions like dance, music, paintings and games for school children by collaborating with different schools in the locality helps to draw the crowd.

Facility Management

means optimal utilization of resources and providing good ambience and traffic management. It is important to see that whatever has been promised to be delivered to their satisfaction. The cleanliness and security of the mall premise enhances a good feel. Well managed malls always attract retailer and consumers. 

Design of the Mall

adds to its attractiveness. While designing a mall common men should be understood first. A mall designed for all categories of people gets more footfalls compared to a mall designed for only particular economic strata of people. A mall should have enough open space for putting up kiosks offering street food and also an exclusive food court offering various continental dishes of popular international brands and also Indian brands. Entry to shops should not be congested. Some gaming zone for children is a good idea.