Retail Businesses Grow 23 pc in April

Retail businesses across India grew 23 percent in April this year in terms of sales as compared to pre-pandemic levels of the same month in 2019 with customers coming back to stores, as per industry body RAI.

According to the latest survey by the Retailers Association of India (RAI), retail businesses across regions grew in April 2022 with sales in North India rising 32 percent, West India (24 percent), East India, and South India (18 percent growth each) in comparison to the pre-pandemic sales level in April 2019.

"It is heartening to see that customers are back in the stores, shopping and retailers are witnessing quantity growth in sales," said Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, RAI.

In terms of categories, the quick-service restaurant segment grew the highest at 45 percent in April 2022 over the corresponding period of 2019, followed by consumer durables and electronics at 26 percent.

Apparel and clothing, and sports goods categories grew by 23 percent each, while footwear rose by 22 percent, as per RAI.

READ MORE: How Blockchain is Transforming the Retail Supply Chain

The food and grocery segment witnessed a growth of 15 percent and jewelry also saw a rise of 8 percent in April this year compared to the same month of 2019.

However, the beauty, wellness, and personal care segment are yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels. It registered a decline of 1 percent in the period under review as against April 2019.

Rajagopalan, however, said, "While most of the categories have shown good performance, it is important to note that about 10 percent of this growth can be accounted to inflation. We do hope that this continues since the headwinds, thanks to inflation, could act as a dampener for the upward trajectory."

(To know more about what is happening in the retail, D2C, and e-commerce industry, please attend IReC.)