‘Transit retail may grow to $21.6 bn by 2030’

With transport infrastructure and the number of people travelling at any point of time growing at breakneck pace, the potential for retailers to tap into this huge market of travelling customers may result in a $21.6 billion business opportunity, according to a report from global consultancy Knight Frank. 
According to its latest study titled ‘Catch Them Moving’, which delves into the opportunities present in transit retail, the total opportunity across various transport hubs in India like airports, highways and bus stations, metros and railways, will grow manifold in the next decade. The report estimates the current size of transit retail in India at just $2.2 billion.

“While the retailing potential is best tapped at airports, it is still at a nascent stage for other modes like metros, railways, highways and bus stations. A large part of the retail opportunity at transit hubs is currently untapped due to lack of retail infrastructure at these nodes,” Knight Frank said. According to Shishir Baijal, chairman and MD, Knight Frank India, the next decade will see the rapid development of such nodes, throwing them open to exploitation.“The government’s focus on developing and modernising the transport modes including airports, railway stations, metro and highways is opening up unprecedented opportunities for the organised retail segment in India.

The development of retail infrastructure at key transportation nodes through a PPP has presented huge opportunities to operators and retailers to monetise the potential of guaranteed footfalls with ‘wait time’,” he said. It also noted that the large retail potential translates into a lease rental opportunity of $1 billion currently and is estimated to grow to $3.2 billion by 2030. “Considering the current lease rent opportunity, the government can potentially monetise these transit-oriented retail assets to generate funding to the tune of $10 billion. Such monetisation will reduce dependencies on passenger tariffs and develop the retail eco-system for a largely unexplored territory. This will also open a new revenue stream for future infrastructure developments,” it said. “Transport terminals offer guaranteed footfalls every single day, maybe with different passenger dwell times and different propensity to spend,” said Rajeev Vijay, executive director, Knight Frank India.