The Retailers Association of India (RAI) conducts fortnightly surveys to get knowledge of the current retail scenario in the country and their 5th edition indicates signs of marginal recovery in the month of July wherein business was down 63 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) as compared to June, which experienced a decline of 67 per cent.
However, June also showed signs of retail picking up after an 80 per cent downturn in April Y-o-Y.
The category wise breakdown of recoveries in the second half of July were food & grocery (-46 per cent Y-o-Y) and consumer durables (-31 per cent Y-o-Y), while others such as apparel & clothing (-69 per cent Y-o-Y), sports goods (-69 per cent Y-o-Y) and beauty & wellness (-65 per cent Y-o-Y) have also not yet recovered.
Although degrowth in business has continued through July, the worst affected were businesses with turnovers from Rs. 20 to Rs. 300 crore in East India at -73 per cent Y-o-Y and above Rs. 300 crore in West India at -64 per cent Y-o-Y.
However, businesses with turnovers up to Rs. 20 crore are showing better signs of recovery in Northern India at -35 per cent Y-o-Y.
RAI has also put forth these concerns before respective state and local authorities asking them to consider the propositions of retailers that will help them get their businesses back on track.
Kumar Rajagopalan, Chief Executive Officer, RAI, said “With Unlock 3.0 now being rolled out across the country, there is a possibility of significant sales recovery for retail businesses. It is observed that in places where the local authorities have been supportive, there is confidence in the minds of consumers. If the retail industry continues to be under pressure, it will have a serious rippling effect on other sectors such as manufacturing, entertainment and artisans among others.”
He also noted that weekend curfews and localised lockdowns in certain parts of the country have hampered the path to revival for retailers.
