The 54th Retail Business Survey, published by the Retailers Association of India (RAI), pegs a moderate 2 per cent rise in the retail sector in August 2024 compared to the same month the previous year. This elucidates the dominant patterns throughout diverse retail sectors across the nation. Double-digit growth on a like-for-like basis has not yet been observed by retail enterprises.
The Retailers Association of India (RAI) CEO, Kumar Rajagopalan, stated, “Retail business has not shown robust growth over last year for the month of August. Numerous retailers have asserted that, when compared like for like, they have seen negative growth. Since the state of the economy is generally improving, everyone anticipates that the holiday season will bring about positive growth.”
As per the survey, there was a 3 per cent boost in sales in North and South India, and a 1 per cent increase in sales in East and West India. When compared to August 2023, the retail categories with the most growth were food and grocery, up 7 per cent, and jewellery, up 5 per cent. Among the categories, apparel and clothing saw a modest 2 per cent increase from the same time last year.