India is dealing with a strange problem known as ‘Ghost Mall,’ which is most prevalent in Delhi NCR, followed by Pune and Hyderabad. According to Knight Frank India’s latest report, ‘Think India, Think Retail 2022,’ the problem has resulted in a total loss of more than $524 million. According to a report by international property consultant Knight Frank, 57, or 21%, of India’s 271 operational shopping malls are dilapidated and require immediate repair.

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What is Ghost Mall?

A mall is deemed a Ghost mall if it has over 40% of its space unoccupied, per the research.

These ghost malls are a result of a number of things, such as a lack of due diligence, problems in the mall, such as its size and ownership patterns, defective layouts with dark lanes, an inability to control consumer walk-flow, low occupancy, and a lack of anchor stores.

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A total of 271 active malls in the top eight markets—Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, National Capital Region (NCR), and Pune—comprise 8.6 million square metres (92.9 million square feet) of India’s total mall stock, according to the survey. NCR’s contribution to India’s total mall stock as of H1 2022 is about a third, or 34%, making it the most among the top 8 markets. Bengaluru contributes 17%, while Mumbai contributes 18%, the second-highest mall stock among the top 8 markets.

These ghost malls are a result of a variety of factors, including a lack of due diligence, mall flaws like size and ownership patterns, flawed layouts with dark lanes, a failure to manage customer walk-flow, poor occupancy, and a lack of anchor businesses.

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A few large format retailers that made up a complete mall have in some circumstances received termination notices to close. According to the Knight Frank study, operations closure, shop demolition inside the mall, and mall property auction due to unpaid fees to the local mall authority are also in progress.