20 June 2022, Mumbai:
India’s retail sales grew 24 per cent in May compared to the corresponding 2019 pre-pandemic month. The highest growth of 30 per cent was reported in West India while North reported the lowest growth of 16 per cent. Sales across all four regions of India surpassed pre-pandemic levels in April and May this year, as per the Retailers Association of India (RAI) stats. On the other hand, sales across East India grew 22 per cent while those across South India grew 22 per cent.
Sales grew from 23 per cent in April this year to 24 per cent in May, notes Kumar Rajgopalan, CEO, RAI. Despite prices all categories rising, consumers are willing to shop as socializing is picking up pace, he adds.
Clothing and footwear categories performed well during the period as more consumers shopped for summer weddings and office wear, Kumar says. Sales in the footwear category grew 30 per cent while apparel sales grew 24 per cent and beauty and wellness segment grew by 9 per cent, he adds. Other retail categories like consumer durables, electronics, food and groceries also witnessed strong sales growth.
