New Delhi, Aug. 13 -- British cookie brand Ben's Cookies could have chosen Khan Market, Delhi's best-known and busiest retail destination, for its first city store. Instead, it opened in June at Meherchand Market on Lodhi Road, a compact retail lane known more for designer and fashion labels than footfall.

A larger shift is playing out across India's urban cities: bigger companies are choosing "city stores" over one big destination bet, some of them staying inside malls, some stepping outside onto less frequented high streets and residential lanes wherever allowed, while some moving into new retail pockets altogether around fresh developer projects.

The common thread isn't the address, it's proximity, walkability and repeat consumption....