Apparel remains a top category in shopping malls and high streets

A primary survey conducted by global real estate consultancy in India, Knight Frank says that apparel remains a top category in both shopping malls and high streets along with food and beverage. With regard to retailer category comparison on high streets, the apparel segment has a share of 25 per cent while in shopping malls, apparel has a share of 35 per cent.

It further adds that Bengaluru has the best of high streets that provide a significantly better shopping experience with 4 of its markets making it to the top 10 list.  MG Road (Bengaluru) tops the list of high streets in India, followed by Somajiguda (Hyderabad) in the second position, Linking Road (Mumbai), and South Extension (Delhi) are also listed among the top 10 high streets in the country.

The top ten high streets are those that are convenient in terms of access, parking facilities and a varied assortment of retailers.

The layout and master planning of the high street defines the visibility. Inward-looking markets like Khan Market (Delhi) and DLF Galleria (Gurugram) scored very low, whereas markets aligned along the access road like MG Road (Bengaluru), Somajiguda (Hyderabd), Linking Road (Mumbai), Anna Nagar, Park Street and Camac Street (Kolkata) scored high. Ahmedabad and Pune do not house any of the top 10 high streets.

The survey was conducted across 30 high streets across the top eight cities of India based on parameters that determine the quality of experience high streets provide to customers.

The report also says that NCR, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad are the top three markets with a high concentration of non-modern retail arenas.

Shishir Baijal, CMD, Knight Frank India said, “Retail is a highly competitive business and, more recently with the advent of malls, is also closely related to the overall customer experience. Globally, cities are identified by their highstreets, often one of the main attractions of the city, and the brands on these streets – a barometer of the city’s worth on a global platform. But as we evolve, customer experience is the key and due to their traditional nature, high streets often fail to provide amenities like those of shopping centres. However, as cities in India are modernising, we see many high streets in the country reviving as facilities like access, parking, store visibility etc. have improved.”