Retail sales in January 2022 have suffered due to the restrictions imposed by states in an attempt to curb the third wave of the pandemic, according to a survey by the Retailers Association of India (RAI). The survey revealed that sales in January 2022 were at 91% of the pre-pandemic sales levels (January 2019) as well as in January 2020.
“While some of the states allowed for retail to function with fewer limitations responding to the decline in the number of hospitalisations, others like Delhi and Haryana continued with heavy restrictions,” it said, adding the restrictions culminated into negative sales sending categories like beauty, wellness & personal care (-24%), furniture & furnishings (-12%), apparel & clothing (- 7%) and footwear (-4%) back into the red as compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Other categories that were on a steady growth trajectory such as CDIT too experienced a dip in sales growth rate, the survey noted. Retail businesses indicated a drop in all regions with sales in South India at 98% of the pre-pandemic levels, North India at 92%, West India at 89% and East India at 87%. Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, RAI, said, “Most of the states across the country have allowed retail businesses to be open till late hours so that there is no crowding at any point in time.”