"In the wake of unprecedented surge in e-commerce, shopping malls, already under huge pressure due to large vacant spaces, are expected to see a sharp decline in the footfalls to the extent of 55.58 per cent during the ongoing festive season this year," a survey by Assocham revealed.
Delhi-NCR has recorded the highest decline in footfalls in the city malls. As per the survey, about 120-150 malls in Delhi-NCR were launched in the past two years but almost 65-70 per cent of the spaces in many of these malls remains vacant.
The survey drew responses from major cities in the NCR (National Capital Region), apart from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Dehradun.
In the nine major cities, more than 59 percent of the total mall space remains vacant, with Delhi-NCR topping the list with 68.5 percent, followed by Mumbai at 65 per cent, Ahmedabad (61 per cent) and Chennai (60 per cent).
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Both retailers and consultants seem convinced that the mall magic seems to have disappeared in a puff of smoke on the back of the economic slowdown, poor revenue model, low footfalls-to-sales conversion and lack of special purpose malls, the survey added.
The festival season this year has triggered a huge rise in online shopping and may cross the Rs 55,000-crore mark, resulting in the halving of footfalls in malls in places like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, among others Assocham said.