representative imagenew delhi primary leasing in newly completed malls is expected to remain the key driver of retail space demand in 2023 and fashion apparel homeware and department stores likely to lead leasing activity according to a report by a real estate consulting firm cbrethis year retail leasing will touch 556 million square feet which is the highest level after the 2019 peak of 68 million square feet as per the report also the supply scenario is set to improve as not only a significant amount of pentup supply lined up for completion during 2023 but several investmentgrade projects launched by reputed players in the past 15 2 years are also expected to become operational in 2023 advt as per the report it is estimated that supply would touch 6 million sq ft in 2023 the highest in the past five years the report further highlights that indian consumers have remained optimistic about their personal finances especially compared to other economies this was reflected in cbre indias consumer sentiments survey conducted in late 2022 wherein 77 of respondents revealed their confidence about their personal financesanshuman magazine chairman and ceo india southeast asia middle east africa cbre said we believe that any impact of an expected slowdown on economic activity will be circumvented by strong macroeconomic fundamentals and domestic consumptionthe governments strong capex programme with a focus on infrastructure development and capacity building across sectors is aimed at driving investment as the secondlargest employment generator in india the real estate sector will continue to be a focus area for these investments meanwhile indias strong domestic consumption would continue to strengthen the retail sector which would see a strong supply pipeline in 2023 driving leasing activity magazine addedram chandnani managing director advisory transactions services cbre india said retailers must be prepared and consider strategic investments amid rapidly changing consumer behaviour while global headwinds could impact discretionary retail spending cautious optimism among consumers along with diversified location and omnichannel sales strategies of retailers are likely to help the sector navigate the next normal advt top trends expected to shape the indian retail sector in 2023store will remain at the heart of business operations examining the products support provided by a salesperson realtime purchase and a layer of experience offered by brickandmortar stores remain some of the top reasons for engaging customers in an instore shopping experience retailers will continue to carve out success in diverse locations most of the brands have an existing customer base which is willing to explore locations where retailers have used innovative concepts to draw a crowd currently this trend is mostly prevalent among fb retailers but other categories are also likely to adopt this approach to expand their footprint and existing customer base in a bid to diversify their location strategies further several international brands in the fb and apparel segments are also opening stores along expressways or highwaysleisure spend may be constrained compared to other economies indian consumers remained confident about their