The Evolution of the Shopping Mall Culture in India

When being compared to the shopping mall culture of Europe and North America, the culture and trend here in India are not very old. The twenty-odd years of evolution and development of this culture fall short by a mile in comparison to the several decades of its existence in the developed nations. The idea of a shopping mall was first proposed by a man named Victor Gruen. This man was obviously American since the developed economy and environment of that country was conducive to such ideas. Gruen vision of a shopping mall came to fruition in Edina in the state of Minnesota. This mall, called the South Dale Centre, spanned across 800000 square feet. It was established way back in the year 1956. Following the success of South Dale Centre, as many as twelve hundred more such malls followed over the latter half of the century.

In India, the first shopping mall was almost half a century late than the first American one. Established in New Delhi in the year 1999, the first shopping mall was the Ansal’s Plaza. This was followed by the Crossroads in Mumbai, Spencer Plaza in Chennai and South City Mall, one of the best shopping malls in Kolkata. The mall culture picked up pace from 2003 onwards. A slew of metro cities like Pune, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and many more started the development of malls on a huge scale. The number of shopping malls in Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and New Delhi multiplied rapidly thanks to the immense popularity and the demand of the people. This heyday continued until the year 2008.

The year 2008 was a nightmare for the Indian economy. The recession hit the market very badly. Stocks plummeted and the share markets crashed. Prices were at an all-time high and people faced a lot of difficulties in putting food on the table. This dealt a severe blow to the mall culture. This setback sent the retailers and investors reeling in the aftermath of the recession. The entire development had taken place in a short span of five years. Enthusiasts who had jumped on the bandwagon at the very beginning, now face a shortage of capital. Numerous businesses had to be closed down due to this and the malls suffered immensely. Struggling throughout the phase, it was not all bad. This period taught valuable lessons to all those in the business world of shopping malls like investors, retailers and partners. They resorted to professional assistance and guidance. Learning from the examples set in the western world was stressed upon. Experts in management were called upon to handle things so that they would not turn so bad. 

The recession of 2008 lasted well into the year 2011. The mall culture that we see in India nowadays only started to take wings from this year onward. Modern malls were the keywords here and a lot of efforts were put in that effect. Shopping mall developers hired architects and designers to implement malls in a modern avatar. Malls began to shift from their original concepts of just being a and commercial shopping space. Instead, malls began to discover new identities for themselves. They had retail outlets from big brands. Entertainment was an unexplored area of business that gave the malls a huge source of income. Gaming zones and video game parlours were set up and proved to be an excellent way of keeping kids engaged while the grown-ups shopped. Food hubs and restaurants added more dough to the cash machine. All of this was the modern malls taking shape.

Today, malls have become synonymous with not only shopping but also movies, dinner and even simply hanging out. People search for shopping centres near me not only to shop but also to just be able to step out of the house and go someplace nice. Malls have become an essential part of our everyday life, from shopping for groceries to catching a movie to hanging out with friends.

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