India's retail sales down 50% in June compared to pre-pandemic levels: RAI

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jul 20, 2021

As the second wave of Covid-19 and retail restrictions continued in June, the month saw retail sales drop by 50% compared to June 2019, with sports wear and goods taking a significant hit. 

 
June retail sales were far from close to pre-pandemic levels as many brick-and-mortar retail outlets only began to reopen towards the end of the month. However, sales were generally better than in May, when many establishments were closed for the entire month, showing the beginning of a gradual recovery, according to the Retail Association of India’s latest survey, accessed by the Press Trust of India.  
 
“Retail businesses continue to be stressed and are finding it difficult to sustain due to restricted timing of operations and weekend closures,” said the RAI’s CEO Kumar Rajagopalan, the Press Trust of India reported. 

Sports goods and sportswear was a retail category which suffered significantly this June with sales dropping by 66% compared to pre-pandemic June 2019, according to the RAI. On the other hand, the foods and groceries category only saw sales drop by 6% during the same time period. 
 
The beauty, wellness, and personal care category’s June sales were 57% down compared to June, 2019. However, the category did show month-on-month improvement as May 2021 sales in the category were 87% down compared to May 2019. Apparel sales witnessed a similar trend with clothing sales in June 2021 at 52% less than in June 2019 and clothing sales in May 2021 at 77% less compared to May 2019.