Retailers reported 15 per cent growth in August compared to pre-pandemic levels according to a survey by the Retailers Association of India which it termed as “moderate growth” amidst inflationary pressures.

This was a lower than growth levels seen in July at 18 per cent.

In August, retailers in the Eastern region reported sales growth of 19 per cent, while those in the North posted 8 per cent growth compared to August 2019. In the Southern and Western regions retail sales growth was at 12 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.

Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI), said, “Most items have witnessed inflation. Retailers are indicating that higher price items are selling well, and lower price items are not seeing as much growth. This clearly depicts that while the upper middle and elite class are shopping, lower income group customers are not shopping much. Hope this is temporary and consumption gets more broad-based as the festival season kicks in.”

Sales categories

Sales across categories witnessed a steady increase. Sales of sports good was up 47 per cent in August 2022 compared to pre-pandemic levels. Footwear (27 per cent ), quick-service restaurant (25 per cent) and jewellery (23 per cent) saw strong performance too. White goods saw growth of 13 per cent, while apparel and clothing sales were up 20 per cent in August compared to pre-pandemic levels, the RAI survey said.

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