Retail sales up 15% year-on-year in October

“Retail businesses across regions have indicated growth in sales as compared to pre-pandemic levels with West India signaling growth of 25%, while South India and East India indicate a growth of 18% each followed by North India at 14% as compared to sales levels in October 2019,” RAI said in the 33rd edition of the Retail Business Survey on Monday.

RAI has been tracing monthly retail data since the onset of the pandemic. With offline retail being hit hard, retailers pinned hopes on the festive season that concluded late last month. The festive period saw consumers return to offline stores and shop in the absence of any restrictons.

“The removal of pandemic-related restrictions has resulted in all-round growth of retail businesses across regions and categories. In order to understand the complete impact of the festival season on retail sales, it is essential to see the figures of October and November combined,” said Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India.

Rajagopalan said that all signs from October data indicate a positive trend.

About categories that performed well, RAI said that consumers bought more household electronics and white goods during October. The category reported a 38% jump in sales compared to 2019 levels. Categories such as footwear, food and grocery as well as sporting goods too reported strong double-digit growth compared to October 2019.

“In categories, consumer durables and electronics have indicated a growth of 38% followed by quick service restaurants (QSR—33% growth) as compared to sales levels in October 2019. Sports goods and food & groceries continue to indicate growth at 30% and 23% sales respectively compared to pre-pandemic levels (same period in 2019) respectively,” according to RAI data.