With dip in Covid cases and easing of restrictions across the country post the third pandemic wave, the retail industry has been witnessing strong revival with sales getting back to the pre-pandemic levels. As per the latest Retail Business Survey released by the Retailers Association of India , industry sales were up 10 per cent in February compared to the same period in 2019 and 6 per cent compared to 2021.
The recovery was visible across the four regions. Retail sales were up 9 per cent in West India during the month compared to same period in 2020, while in East India, retail sales witnessed a growth of 6 per cent in February compared to the pre-pandemic levels. In North India and South India sales were estimated to have seen a growth of 4 per cent and 5 per cent respectively last month compared to the per-pandemic levels.
But the industry body pointed out that inflationary pressures as well as fast-evolving geopolitical conditions have had some impact on business sentiments.
Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India, said, “While the data shows that retail businesses are inching towards normalcy, we need to consider that the growth shown is not adjusted to inflation and the possibility is that some categories are yet to get back quantitative growth.”
The survey revealed that categories of consumer durables and electronics, food and groceries and QSR clocked strong growth of 31 per cent, 33 per cent and 38 per cent in February 2022 respectively as compared to February 2020. These categories witnessed strong double-digit growth in these categories too compared to the same period in 2020. Apparels and footwear categories have also indicated double-digit growth (y-o-y) with a steady decline in the rate of Covid-19 cases.