by Suman Gupta
India, July 2020: The latest business survey conducted by the Retailers Association of India (RAI) with more than 100 big and small retailers revealed that there has been no significant growth in business for retailers even during the second half of June. Retailers witnessed 67% degrowth from June 15 to June 30 compared to the corresponding period last year. During the same time frame, malls witnessed 77% degrowth (y-o-y) on account of not being allowed to open uniformly across the country.
In an attempt to help malls open up and save jobs as well as the entire retail value chain, the Retailers Association of India tweeted to Aaditya Thackeray imploring him to open up malls as well. This request was made in line with Maharashtra Government’s directive to open up hotels outside containment zones in the state. The tweet by RAI (https://twitter.com/rai_india/status/1280440777634504704) said “Dear Shri @AUThackeray, good to know that hotels are now allowed to open. We request you to help us reopen malls in Maharashtra. With SOPs in place, malls are functioning well in other states & these practices will be implemented here as well to ensure safety of customers & staff“
An earlier consumer sentiment survey by RAI had revealed that more than 60% of the consumers will wait up to 90 days before shopping, keeping in mind expenditure and safety factors. This has resulted in slow growth for the retail sector throughout June. The sentiment got reflected in categories like QSR and restaurants (-71%), followed by beauty, wellness, and personal care (-69%) and apparel, clothing, jewellery, watches, and other personal accessories (-67%).
With Unlock 2.0 on the cards in the next few days and several sectors opening up, retail can hope for a revival of consumption and signs of recovery at least in the second quarter of the year.
