Shopping in Mumbai: Duty-Free Shops, Fashion Streets, Shopping Tips

A shopper’s paradise, Mumbai has an abundance of everything imaginable when it comes to shopping. You can start polishing your bargaining skills as you will need them everywhere you go shopping in Mumbai except the chic boutiques and upscale stores. The myriad options available to you for street shopping and duty-free shopping in some shops will offer you a great shopping experience that will serve as a delight for all you shopaholics out there.

Mumbai is a big city and shopping can get a little daunting and overwhelming as many shops are located in crowded areas that may be difficult to navigate. But do not worry, this guided tour of the Mumbai bazaars and inside shopping tips will help you find the perfect trending options whether you are looking for an elegant saree for an upcoming wedding, stylish trendy shoes, accessories, electronics, and even home decor.

★ Colaba Causeway

One of the city’s finest attractions, Colaba Causeway is where the famous ‘Leopold Cafe’ is. It is a famous tourist spot and a great place for shopping in Mumbai, which is pretty packed during afternoons. The Gateway of India is at a walking distance from this place and this entire distance is filled with vendors selling artificial jewelry with variety and prices that seem too good to be true. You can buy handbags, shoes, sunglasses, watches, dresses, you name it all. From breezy apparel, colorful jewelry to bags and footwear, you can get yourself a good deal.

Colorful Jewelry

Classic Indian Mojris

You just need to up your bargaining game in these shops that will get you a good deal worth your time and money. For some designer shopping, this street market also houses upscale boutiques like Bombay Electric, Bungalow 8, and Tarun Tahiliani’s Ensemble. And if you want to take a break to start the round two of shopping, you can grab a drink and some food at the Leopold Cafe, Bagdadi, Bade Miyan, and Cafe Mondegar.

This Colaba Causeway market is open from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm.

★ Linking Road

Is shoes shopping on your mind? You should probably head to Linking Road first, as there you will find a jaw-dropping range of footwear. This famous road in Bandra is a popular shopping spot for window shopping of high-end brands to multiple stores that offer an affordable range of clothes and other accessories. The stalls on this road offer everything from shoes and clothes to designer handbags. One of the best shopping destinations in Mumbai, this place attracts a lot of tourists and locals.

Here you will find a balanced combination of high-end boutiques and street vendors stretching the size of your wallet according to your choice. On Linking Road, there is an amalgamation of modern and traditional; the linkage of East and West, one of the hippest suburbs for shopping mostly Indian footwear and bags.

The market is jam-packed on Sundays and visiting this place on weekdays is better for bargain hunters, comfortably browsing through the stalls and for beating the crowd. The shops are open from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm.

★ Fashion Street

This Street is probably the oldest and the most sought after place for shopping in Mumbai. If you are looking for the best Gucci rip-offs or for knockoffs of brands like Adidas, Puma, and Nike, you can find the first copy of branded products on Fashion Street. If you are a fan of reading books, at the end of the road you will find stores selling pre-owned books at the lowest price possible. There are over 150 stalls where you can buy what’s trending in a pocket-friendly way.

With a lot of college-goers in Mumbai, you will see Fashion Street bustling with teenagers and students from nearby colleges. At a super reasonable price, you can get stylish clothes and accessories. A lot of products are sold in this street market so check for any defects before buying clothes or other stuff.

The street opens from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm.

Indian High-quality Carpet

★ Chor Bazaar

The famous chaotic thief market of Mumbai, another must-go place for shopping in Mumbai which offers goods off the black market, where you will find yourself getting steered away seeing the eccentric antique items, second-hand automobile spare parts, and electronic items. The landmark in Mumbai, Chor Bazaar, hustles and bustles with all sorts of stores that one should visit.

One of the biggest, liveliest and most noisy markets in Mumbai, this place displays vintage items, antiques, and first copy products that are sold at a reasonable price to the customers. Bronze items, books, posters, you will find everything here.

The only thing to make sure is that you use your best bargaining skills as the vendors in this market are quite convincing and can manipulate you easily. The shops open here at 10:30 in the morning and close at 8:30 at night.

★ Hill Road

Hill Road is the ultimate street for shopping in Mumbai that witnesses a large number of visitors from around the city. Here you can get the best deals on clothes and shoes. The jewelry stalls are also quite reasonable where you will find hoops, studs, metal rings, stone-studded pendants, and other such stuff.

The shops offer clothes for men and children at cost-effective prices and mostly on weekends, you will get a lot of variety to shop. On a 2-kilometer stretch, you will find everything you want and you can buy whatever you want that suits your budget.

The shops on Hill Road open at 11:00 am in the morning and close at 9:00 pm at night.

★ Lokhandwala Market

Lokhandwala Market in Andheri West is the street market that stretches a bit and there is a probability that you can spot a television star on the street. The stalls and shops that sell western wear, Indian wear, apparel, accessories, etc. will turn your attention towards them. Here you can find boutiques and tailors that can design and craft your dream outfit. Also, the shoe collection in these shops is vast and quite tempting.

The bargain hunters can use their tricks to bargain for good quality footwear, household items, apparels, and mobile phone accessories. During the evening, the streets are too crowded so you should head to the market early. Take a walk around the area and you can buy stuff from luxury brands without even hurting your pockets so much. Shopping in such places is sometimes a lot of fun, going from one shop to the other.

The best shopping tip is to go alone or with people who can trudge through the shopping places with you as these streets practically seem like never-ending. The shops here are open from 12:00 am to 10:30 pm.

For duty-free shopping, you can head to the airport in Mumbai where duty-free shops are located which give you really amazing goods without the duty charges.