Retail sales in India recover in July to 72% of pre-pandemic levels

The west, however, continues to lag due to restrictions in Maharashtra. Retail sales in the west are only at 57 percent of pre-pandemic levels, meaning they declined by 43 percent in July 2021 over July 2019. Malls in the state of Maharashtra were shut through July, with the state only easing curbs for standalone stores, by extending their timings till 4pm on weekdays. Currently, malls have been allowed to open, but only for fully vaccinated customers. Employees and staff working in malls too, will have to be fully vaccinated and with a gap of 14 days since the second dose.

Malls have raised concerns over these rules, saying this would mean most malls won’t be able to open. Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO of RAI has said that currently only 5 percent of mall employees are fully vaccinated, while 95 percent of them have been vaccinated with at least one dose. With the latest break the chain order on Monday reiterating that customers and employees of malls will have to be fully vaccinated, Rajagopalan says that most malls that opened on August 15 may have to shut down again as they cannot operate without staff. Despite opening on Sunday, malls in the state saw meagre footfalls of only around 10 percent of normal levels.

Meanwhile, retailers across the country are now pinning their hopes on the festive season to see the return of normalcy in terms of sales. However, this too, Rajagopalan says depends on easing restrictions on modern retail. “There is a possibility of significant sales recovery for retail businesses as the festive season approaches, provided restrictions on modern retail are relaxed across the country allowing smooth operations and return to normalcy,” he added.