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Malls, shopping centres report a sharp decline in footfalls
- The dip was more visible in places such as Karnataka and the Delhi-NCR where Covid-19 cases have emerged over the last few days
- Over the last 10 days, footfalls at DLF Mall of India in Noida dipped more than 20%
Shopping centres and malls said “walk-ins” or unplanned customer visits have slumped between 10% and 20% over the last two weeks as shoppers stay away from crowded places fearing Covid-19 infections.
The dip was more visible in places such as Karnataka and the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) where Covid-19 cases have emerged over the last few days. Footfalls in non-metros, however remained unaffected, executives at large mall developers told Mint.
Pacific Development Corp., which runs malls largely in Delhi-NCR, reported a 15% slump in footfalls over the last two weeks. “This last weekend was particularly sluggish as more people chose to stay indoors,” said Abhishek Bansal, executive director at Pacific Development. Moreover, there weren’t too many blockbuster films released to draw in the numbers, he added.
Over the last 10 days, footfalls at DLF Mall of India in Noida dipped more than 20% as people turned cautious over a case detected in the nearby Mayur Vihar area. “Initially, there was an impact—a 20% to 25% drop in footfalls. This weekend was not as bad,” said a spokesperson for DLF Mall.
Mumbai-based Inorbit chain of malls said it has witnessed a fall in footfalls over the last few days but largely in its properties in south India where fresh cases have emerged. “There is a slight dip, yes, but I don’t think there is any major impact we are seeing right now,” said Rajneesh Mahajan, chief executive at Inorbit Malls India Pvt. Ltd. Mahajan said the dip in footfalls was more evident in south India where the company, part of K. Raheja Corp, has malls in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Drop in footfalls in the south was 8-10% over the last three-four days, while there was no significant decline in properties in the west.
“In our malls in the non-metros, things are stable and footfalls are intact barring a few slips here and there,” said Pankaj Renjhen, chief operating officer at Virtuous Retail, which has six operational malls in India. The Bengaluru-headquartered firm that has malls in Bengaluru, Chennai, Surat and Mohali, said that it is screening employees and taking precautionary measures.
Oberoi Mall declined to comment for the story.
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First Published:11 Mar 2020, 11:17 PM IST
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