By 2025, the city will include at least seven more malls, bringing the total number of these shopping havens to more than 25. The OMR, Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam Radial Road, Tiruvottiyur, Perambur, Mangadu, and the airport at Meenambakkam will all see the construction of new malls.
Since retail sales and foot traffic at shopping centers have returned to pre-Covid levels, there has been an increase in the demand for mall space. In the past three years, no brand-new mall has opened in the city. According to real estate experts, projects for new malls in the Chennai Metropolitan Area have gained momentum due to the ease of access provided by the expansion of the metro rail network and new express motorways (CMA).
Retail activity has been accelerating over the previous six months, according to commercial real estate services and investment firm CBRE, as a result of an increase in vaccinations, the lifting of lockdown restrictions, and the reopening of offline establishments.
Retail leasing in Chennai increased tenfold, from 20,000 sq ft in H1 2021 to 2 lakh sq ft in H1 2022, according to CBRE India. More than 90% of the growth in the absorption of retail space was accounted for by south and west Chennai. According to a recent CBRE analysis, high streets accounted for nearly 80% of all retail leasing activity in the first half of 2022 (January through June).