Retailers achieve 93% of pre-COVID sales in February: RAI survey

As per the 13th edition of the Retail Business Survey by the Retailers Association of India, the retail industry achieved 93 per cent of the pre-COVID sales in February.

Segments such as consumer durables and quick service restaurants (QSR) reported 15 per cent and 18 per cent growth respectively in February 2021, says the survey report.

Categories like footwear, beauty, wellness and personal care, sports goods and food and grocery are showing steady month-on-month recovery.

Recovery across regions is showing steady improvement, with eastern India indicating positive growth of 2 per cent in the month of February.

Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, RAI said the retailers are hopeful of achieving pre-pandemic levels of business in the first six months of 2021.

After the pandemic, it has now become imperative for every retailer to adopt 'phygital' in various ways -- be it social media, messaging platforms, or digital shopping, in addition to their normal channels to align themselves with the changing consumer mindsets of the next normal, he noted.

Although COVID-19 vaccinations have started, the pandemic situation may take some more time to completely settle. RAI believes that recovery will need unconventional solutions and government support, the report said.