India: Retail business witnessed sharp decline, de-growth of 64% in 1st half of Jul 20

• Retailers in India witnessed a 64% de-growth y/y in the first two weeks of Jul 20, as they continued to face a sharp decline in business owing to the pandemic, a survey has found.
• The latest monthly survey by the Retailers Association of India (RAI) found “no sign of recovery” yet from Covid-19 for the sector that has been severely hurt by the pandemic.
• The survey, conducted between 1 – 15 Jul 20, showed a marginal improvement from 67% drop in business for the full month of Jun 20. RAI, which represents thousands of modern retailers including Reliance Retail, Future Group and Shoppers Stop NSE 1.58 %, has been conducting monthly surveys.
• The fourth edition of the survey showed a marginal improvement in situation from Apr 20, when the overall business had plunged 88% as India imposed a strict lockdown in a bid to curb the spread of the virulent disease.
• According to the latest survey, food and grocery and consumer durables “showed some signs of improvement” and the two segments saw the least dips, of 45% and 30% respectively, while fashion apparel bore the brunt and continued to bleed with a 74% drop in business.

External Link : https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/retail-business-witnessed-sharp-decline-de-growth-of-64-in-1st-half-of-july/articleshow/77121859.cms