As Demand for Quality Retail Space Hits Peaks, Here are NCR’s Hidden Gems Decoded

By Mohit Goel

New Delhi, April 22, 2025: Post-pandemic, the retail segment has charted a growth path marked by a steep growth trajectory. Two reports released recently by Cushman & Wakefield point towards a high increase in rental and a gradual shift of retail spaces towards Superior Grade malls.

In Delhi-NCR, this shift is fueled by transforming lifestyles, infrastructure developments, and a desire for spaces that blend work, leisure, and shopping. Driving this transformation are urban consumers with discretionary spending powers. They have increasingly begun to prefer retail hubs that go beyond transactions and offer experiential shopping. Cushman & Wakefield’s findings highlight this trend, noting brands now prefer locations situated in the thick of residential hubs. At the heart of this transformation lies NCR’s micro-markets—Noida, Gurugram, and the fast-rising star, Faridabad—each rewriting the rules of retail real estate.

Noida and Greater Noida, once industrial workhorses, have reinvented themselves as lifestyle destinations. The ripple effect of Jewar Airport’s development has turned the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway into a magnet for luxury residences and avant-garde retail formats. High streets here buzz with a new breed of Shop-Cum-Office (SCO) clusters, where dentists operate above designer boutiques and cafés double as co-working spaces.

The Uttar Pradesh government’s ambitious ‘New Noida’ proposal has only amplified the frenzy, with developers eyeing land parcels like buried treasure. Meanwhile, Gurugram’s sub-markets—Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) and Dwarka Expressway—are redefining suburban retail. SPR, once a budget-friendly alternative to Golf Course Road, is catering to millennials. The Dwarka Expressway, inaugurated by the Prime Minister, has become a fast-emerging retail hub.

Yet, the most compelling story unfolds in Faridabad, NCR’s fast-growing suburb, unshackling its industrial past and emerging as a luxury residential and commercial hub. Long overshadowed by its glitzier neighbours, the city is staging a comeback powered by infrastructure and ingenuity. The FNG Expressway slashed travel time to Noida from 90 minutes to 35, while the upcoming Faridabad-Jewar Expressway brings it closer to India’s largest airport.

Further, Neharpar’s residential boom has led to a demographic of young professionals who’d rather shop in a local mall than endure Gurugram’s traffic. Faridabad’s retail ranking leap to 13th nationally (Kearney Index) underscores this rise. Further, the premiumisation reshaping India’s retail landscape, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s report, superior grade malls will drive 70 per cent of new supply in 2025-2026. As India’s retail sector is poised to grow at a staggering rate the race is on to claim NCR’s next hotspot. For investors, the formula is clear: follow infrastructure, bet on mixed-use spaces, and watch Faridabad. Several projects across residential and mixed-use are taking shape in Faridabad where offices, theme-based retail destinations, gardens, and multiplexes coexist—prove that the future of retail isn’t about isolated malls, but ecosystems.

The author is Managing Director, Omaxe Group