Omicron wave haunts retailers again as sales plunge in Jan 

In spite of having milder impact on the health of the citizens, the Omicron wave hit the physical retailers during the month of January. As per a latest report from the industry body Retailers Association of India (RAI), COVID related restrictions dragged businesses of the country’s retailers last month.

The RAI Business Survey report said that while business at physical retail outlets were thriving in December, the curbs imposed by various state authorities led to a nine percentage points decline in activities in January, compared to pre-COVID levels. Among the country’s four regions, the eastern India got impacted the most - with business plunging by 14 points, followed by West (-12 per cent), North (-6 per cent) and South (-3 per cent).

While beauty and personal care category was hit the most as business plunged by 21 per cent in January, compared to 7 per cent growth in December. Categories like furnishing (-15 per cent), apparel and clothing (-14 per cent) and footwear (-12 per cent), were impacted heavily. Most of these categories were growing at healthy double-digit rates in the previous month.

The data also points towards a massive hit that the wedding season business has received this year. Various industry associations like the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) had anticipated loss of business due to the third COVID wave and the curbs that were imposed. As per CAIT’s estimates, wedding season business may have plunged by 60 per cent to Rs 1.5 lakh crore - down from Rs 4 lakh crore in pre-COVID days. 

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