The latest edition of the Retail Business Survey by the Retailers Association of India (RAI) noted retail units across India reported growth of only 15 per cent in sales vis-a-vis August 2019 levels.
This was down from 18 per cent in July from the year-ago period, while April and May figures stood at 23 per cent and 24 per cent, in comparison to April 2019 and May 2019, respectively.
Retailers, including MSME units in the country, are expecting a moderate growth trend in sales ahead of the festive season as the year-on-year growth rate for the past few months in comparison to pre-Covid continues to drop.
“There was 20-22 per cent growth every month, but now there seems to be a lull, particularly amongst lower-income group customers. Lower price point items are not selling as fast as they should probably due to inflationary pressure. The growth might pick up around Dussehra but we’ll have to wait and watch,” said Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, RAI.
Region-wise, sales growth compared to August 2019 levels was noticeable. Sales in East India grew by 19 per cent, while the same in South saw a growth of 12 per cent.
Likewise, North India indicated 18 per cent growth, while West registered 11 per cent jump.
In terms of categories, growth increased steadily with sports goods indicating a strong performance followed by footwear, QSR and jewellery performing better than other categories in August 2022, the survey said.
