India’s largest real estate developer DLF expects its retail portfolio to continue performing well, with consumer spending holding up and consumption growing at a healthy 11-12 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y).

Pushpa Bector, group executive director and business head, DLF Retail, said that premiumisation and consumers increasingly seeking better brands, quality and experiences was leading to footfalls going above pre-Covid levels and average sales per footfall rising, according to a report by Business Standard.

“While there may be some moderation in discretionary spending from time to time, we believe the underlying demand for quality retail remains strong,” Bector said.

DLF recently unveiled Midtown Plaza in west Delhi’s Moti Nagar, positioned as a hyperlocal shopping centre. “Plazas are a differentiated product catered to convenience, higher quality of life for residents in very dense residential populations… We are very bullish about the plaza as a concept,” Bector said.

The mall, DLF Malls’ first neighbourhood plaza, spans approximately 280,000 square feet centred around a catchment of nearly 2.5 million residents across west Delhi.

“From a retail perspective, with our three new projects Midtown Plaza, Summit Plaza & DLF Promenade, Goa we aim at growing our income by 20-22 per cent. We have another massive 2 million sq ft Mall of India, Gurgaon project in the pipeline,” Bector said.

For the first quarter of 2026-27 (Q1FY27), DLF’s rental income rose 9 per cent, with the overall rental portfolio of 49.6 million square feet recording an occupancy level of 95 per cent. The company expects exit rentals of ₹7,300 crore to ₹7,500 crore in FY27 and projects mid-teen growth in net operating income over the next four to five years in its rental business.

“We have also been investing in the quality of our existing destinations, while adding new formats such as Midtown Plaza and Summit Plaza to the portfolio. This gives us a good mix of established, premium assets and newer neighbourhood led formats, which together provide a strong and diversified base for sustained annuity income,” she added.