D2C brands lift share of India retail leasing to 28% in H1 2026

Digital-first brands accounted for 28% of India’s retail leasing in H1 2026, up from 23% a year earlier, as they added profitable micro-stores and shop-in-shops. Total leasing rose 20% year on year to 3.9 million sq. ft., led by Delhi-NCR, Chennai and Mumbai.

— Filed Thu, 30 Jul, 2026, 18:03 IST · Source Financial Express · BrandWagon · Updated

D2C brands lifted their share of Indian retail leasing to 28% in H1 2026 as digital-first players expanded offline. Leasing reached 3.9 million sq. ft., with brands favouring profitable micro-stores, shop-in-shops and omnichannel-led expansion.

Why this matters

No related recent signals were provided, so a prior D2C brand pattern cannot be established. The H1 2026 leasing increase indicates digital-first brands are adding physical retail formats.

Omni-channel is accelerating, up 182200% QoQ.

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