High-street retailers stage quicker recovery than malls: RAI

High-street shopping destinations in metros like Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, Kolkata are staging a quicker recovery than malls for retailers, says a survey by the Retailers Association of India (RAI). Stores in locations such as Connaught Place in the capital, Indiranagar in Bengaluru, Mall Road in Ludhiana, MG Road in Pune and Park Street in Kolkata are currently reporting higher sales than their counterparts in malls.

This is mainly because it is more convenient to visit a store in Connaught Place than negotiating the umpteen number of temperature checks and sanitization tunnels at malls, said a CEO of a global fashion brand. Multi-point checks, closure of entertainment units such as cinema halls and restaurants are keeping most people away from malls which are witnessing 15-30 per cent footfalls compared to pre-COVID months.

Also, the visit time to a store is shorter than to the mall said a senior executive at Pavilion Mall in Ludhiana. As a result of this, large sized retailers performed better at high street than at malls in June.