Mall operators are fundamentally rethinking their retail strategy as hypermarkets lose relevance in the post-COVID era. According to Pratik Dantara, head of strategy and chief investor relations officer at the Blackstone-backed REIT Nexus Select Trust, hypermarkets that were traditionally visited with families for weekly grocery shopping are now losing appeal as everything gets delivered home. As reported by Moneycontrol, Nexus has been actively reducing hypermarket footprint in its malls, with Dantara stating the company has gone from first to half and further in terms of space allocation.
The rise of quick commerce has fundamentally changed how FMCG companies approach retail channels. According to Moneycontrol reports, biscuit maker Britannia now gets almost 70 percent of its e-commerce business from quick commerce, with plans to increase this to 85 percent as Amazon and Flipkart scale up their quick commerce models. Consumer behemoth Hindustan Unilever Limited has created a dedicated quick commerce organisation to step up effectiveness in the channel, while Dabur saw quick commerce's salience in e-commerce rise to 70 percent in the March quarter from 50 percent in December quarter.
Mall operators are actively working with retail partners to create more differentiated product mixes and enhanced shopping experiences. As reported by Moneycontrol, Inorbit Malls CEO Rajneesh Mahajan stated they are working with retail partners to sharpen positioning, upgrade shopping experience, and introduce more premium and differentiated product mix. This includes evaluating store layouts, improving customer journeys, enhancing visual merchandising, and incorporating experiential elements to make in-store visits more engaging.
Mall operators are increasingly repurposing large anchor spaces toward entertainment and experience-driven retail. According to Rami Kaushal, managing director of consulting services at CBRE, Family Entertainment Centres are being treated as new anchors with significant square footage dedicated to highly segmented formats catering to distinct demographic cohorts. As reported by Moneycontrol, these entertainment anchors account for approximately one-third of total leasable mall area. Additionally, new-age direct-to-consumer brands are scaling rapidly, with Dantara noting that brands like Nykaa, Lenskart, Snitch, and Soulstore are building offline channels as consumers come from both online and offline directions.
