New Delhi, November 12, 2020: Consumer durables and electronics category recorded positive sales growth in October as compared to last year as retailers overall continued to witness a steady month-on-month recovery, although business is yet to reach last year”s levels, according to a survey by RAI.
As per its 9th round of business survey, the Retailers Association of India (RAI) said consumer durables and electronics category saw a growth of 8 per cent in October, a further increase from 2 per cent growth witnessed in September.
“While consumer durables have done well, other categories (are) yet to recover significantly,” the survey said.
In October, apparel and clothing sales saw 35 per cent decline, while beauty, wellness and personal care witnessed a 55 per cent dip in sales.
Footwear category also clocked 30 per cent decline, while quick service restaurants saw a degrowth of 35 per cent.
Commenting on the findings, RAI CEO Kumar Rajagopalan said, “We are beginning to see green shoots of recovery with a steady month-on-month improvement for businesses. However, we are yet to catch up to last year”s levels.”
Further improvement in business will depend on how the pandemic situation further plays out and how fast the businesses can go towards recovery, he added.
Across India, RAI said, the survey showed that the overall decline in retail business was at 31 per cent, an improvement from 50 per cent decline in Q2 and 78 per cent drop in Q1 according to the reports published in outlookindia.com.
Region wise, south India was better placed with an overall decline of 24 per cent in October, followed by east with 27 per cent dip and north with 28 per cent degrowth. West India was the worst affected with 43 per cent decrease in October.
