Domestic retail sales in Nov up 9% over pre-pandemic levels, says RAI

Retail sales in India in November grew by 9 per cent over the pre-pandemic levels of the same month in November 2019 signaling improvement in business albeit worries around Omicron variant spread and the third wave of the pandemic, according to industry body RAI. In its retail business survey, Retailers Association of India (RAI) said the growth witnessed last month was 16 per cent over the same month last year.

Stating that retail businesses across regions have indicated growth in sales as compared to pre-pandemic levels, RAI said West India signaled 11 per cent increase, followed by East and South India at 9 per cent while North India indicated a growth of 6 per cent each as compared to sales levels in November 2019.

Commenting on the retail performance, Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI), said "Business is improving and we do hope that this will sustain. However, there are still worries around Omicron and the third wave, leading to a feeling of cautious optimism."

In terms of categories, consumer durables and electronics, which did not show great growth in October, showed a good growth of 32 per cent in November as compared to the same month in 2019 on the back of Diwali sales.

The sports goods category reported a growth of 18 per cent and apparels indicated a consistent growth at 6 per cent compared to November 2019, it added.

Food and groceries, and quick service restaurants (QSR) continue to indicate growth, while other categories such as footwear, beauty, wellness and personal care, and furniture are inching towards recovery, RAI said.