The merchants Association of India (RAI), a trade group that works with merchants throughout India, said on Friday that domestic retail sales increased 9% year over year in August, signaling momentum to early festival season shopping.
“In the month of August 2023, retailers had a 9% rise. Food & Grocery saw a 13% gain, while QSR and Jewelry both saw growth of 14%. It appears that people are going shopping. It is crucial to review the data from September, October, and November in order to fully comprehend the effect of the holiday season on retail sales. As the holiday season approaches, retailers anticipate double-digit growth in the upcoming months, according to Kumar Rajagopalan, chief executive of RAI, who announced the 43rd edition of the association’s Retail Business Survey.
Demand patterns differed across categories, with food sales increasing 13% more than they did in August 2022, followed by beauty sales by 10%. Retailers of apparel and electronics both reported an 8% increase in sales year over year.
According to RAI, which measures purchases across a variety of movable categories including clothes, groceries, fast service restaurants, and jewelry, retail sales increased everywhere throughout the nation.
“Retail businesses across regions have indicated growth in sales as compared to August 2022 sales levels, with the highest in South India signaling growth of 15%, while West India indicated a growth of 8%, followed by East India and North India signalling a growth of 7% & 6% respectively,” it added.
A significant number of muhurtham days in August, a busy wedding season in all four southern states, and the Onam festival, which took place from August 20 to August 31, all contributed to the double-digit rise in southern India.
Retailers are counting on a successful festival season to boost consumption, which was hampered in the first half of the year by unseasonal rains that reduced demand for drinks and cooling appliances.
