Развлечения в Индии вытесняют шопинг: индустрия досуга становится ключевым драйвером экономики

Authored By: Abbas Jabalpurwala, CEO, Timezone India For years, the typical weekend outing in India followed a familiar script: a trip to the mall, some shopping and perhaps a meal. Today, that script is changing. A closely contested bowling match, a round of competitive gaming or the chance to discover something new together is increasingly becoming the reason to step out. This points to a broader change in India’s leisure economy. Consumers no longer measure the value of an outing only by what they buy. They are placing greater value on what they do, whom they do it with and the memories they take home. Retail and dining remain part of the occasion, but they are increasingly components of a wider leisure journey rather than its sole purpose. The data reflects this shift. According to The CBRE & Invest India Retail Entertainment Survey 2024–25, more than 70% of consumers across age groups prefer active entertainment experiences as bowling and amusement parks. Nearly 90% consumers highlighted a willingness to spend up to ₹4,000 a month on entertainment. The industry’s growth tells a similar story. A March 2026 report by ANAROCK Group and the Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries noted how India's indoor amusement sector has evolved from being a children-centric niche into a core pillar of the experience economy. Valued at approximately ₹8,400 crore in 2024, the market is projected to reach about ₹15,000 crore by 2030, growing at an estimated compound annual rate of 11.3%. Behind these numbers are three important changes in consumer behaviour. The first is digital fatigue. After spending much of the day behind screens, people are looking for physical, participative experiences that allow them to be fully present. The second is the growing value placed on social connection. A shared moment, particularly one involving play, discovery or friendly competition, can be more rewarding than another purchase. The third is especially significant in India: leisure remains deeply family-oriented and increasingly multi-generational. An outing often needs to work for children, parents and grandparents at the same time. Consumers are therefore gravitating towards destinations that allow every generation to participate, rather than spaces designed for only one age group. These changes are reshaping the role of entertainment within organized retail. Entertainment is no longer an amenity added to a retail destination; it is becoming a reason to visit in the first place. It can influence where consumers choose to go, how long they stay and how much of the wider destination they explore. For family entertainment centres, this represents a fundamental shift in purpose. Our role is not to compete with retail and dining, but to complement them by strengthening the destination as a whole. We are moving from being operators of attractions to curators of occasions. At Timezone, for example, birthdays continue to be an important part of the business, but they are no longer the only occasions bringing people together. Our centres increasingly host anniversaries, family reunions, corporate team outings, bridal showers and bachelorette celebrations. The range of occasions is widening because consumers are looking for more engaging ways to mark the moments that matter to them. The people participating are changing too. A space once perceived primarily as being for children is becoming a shared social setting. Grandparents are trying new games with their grandchildren, while parents who may once have waited on the sidelines are stepping in to play. These are not simply new celebration formats. They reflect a deeper shift in how Indian consumers define quality time. Increasingly, the most successful leisure destinations are those that remove the boundaries between age groups and give everyone a reason to participate. Nor is this transformation confined to India’s largest metros. As organized retail expands into Tier II cities, the appetite for high-quality, experience-led entertainment is expanding with it. Consumers in these markets are seeking the same combination of variety, novelty and social connection, creating significant room for the sector to grow. The opportunity ahead, however, lies in more than adding new formats or opening more locations. It lies in continually responding to changing expectations. What feels fresh and engaging today will not automatically remain so tomorrow. For those of us building experiential destinations, that creates both an opportunity and a responsibility: to keep reinventing the experience while ensuring it remains relevant across generations, cities and occasions. In the experience economy, the true measure of success is not the first visit. It is earning the next one.