Retail sales in India in November grew by 9% over the pre-pandemic levels of the same month in 2019, signalling improvement in business, amid worries around the spread of the Omicron variant and a potential third wave of the pandemic, according to the Retailers Association of India (RAI).
In its retail business survey, RAI said growth witnessed last month was 16% over the same period last year. Stating that retail businesses across regions had indicated growth in sales compared with pre-pandemic levels, RAI said West India signalled an 11% increase, followed by East and South at 9% while North India indicated a growth of 6% compared with sales levels in November 2019.
“Business is improving and we do hope that this will sustain,” said RAI CEO Kumar Rajagopalan. “However, there are still worries around Omicron and the third wave, leading to a feeling of cautious optimism,” he added.
Consumer durables and electronics, which did not show a significant increase in October, grew 32% in November over pre-pandemic levels, on the back of strong Diwali sales.
Sports goods reported a growth of 18% and apparels indicated consistent growth at 6%, it added.
Food and groceries, and quick service restaurants continued to indicate growth, while other categories such as footwear, beauty, wellness and personal care, and furniture showed progress towards recovery, RAI said.
