Retailers witnessed muted growth in December post the festival season. As per the latest survey results released by the Retailers Association of India, retailers in the country garnered an average growth of about four per cent in pan-India in December 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. This growth was broadly led by new store openings as same-store sales were largely muted. Premium segment sales continued to remain strong, the survey indicated.
In the festival period of October and November too, retailers had reported growth of about 7 per cent pan-India and was below the anticipated double-digit growth.
Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI), said, “As we analyse the retail sector’s performance in December 2023, growth has been muted for many retailers despite starting discounts mid-month. It was also the month of the marriage season.”
“Retailers who sold categories with high value and consumer financing did see business growth. Consumers seem to have chosen to buy high-value items like cars, houses and high-end electronics on an EMI basis, while other discretionary spending has been curtailed by them. While the industry showed growth of about 4 per cent Pan India, it was thanks to new stores and new geographies of trading. For most off-line retailers, like for like stores growth was negative by about 5 per cent,” he added.
Low single-digit growth
Geographically, sales were led by the Southern region, with retail businesses garnering a growth of 7 per cent. North and West India registered a growth of low single digit at 3 per cent each. Retailers in Eastern India said their growth was merely 2 per cent.
In terms of categories, QSR segment led the growth with 9 per cent in December 2023 compared to December 2022. Food & grocery sales were up 8 per cent in December over the same period last year. While jewellery sales were up 7 per cent, beauty, wellness and personal care category sales were up 6 per cent. Footwear segment sales were up 3 per cent while apparel and clothing segment sales were up 4 per cent. Sports goods sales were also up 4 per cent. Furniture and furnishing segment sales were up 5 per cent in December 2023 versus December 2022.
However, consumer durables and IT products witnessed a de-growth of 2 per cent in December 2023 compared to the sales levels in December 2022.