India's Retail Sales Discouraging In January, Says Retailers' Association

Retail sales were sluggish with a "discouraging trend" in January as most categories witnessed minimal growth, according to Retailers Association of India.

Sales increased 5% compared to the same period last year. Categories other than jewellery, food, and grocery saw little growth, a survey by the association showed.

"Most retailers have stated that they have witnessed negative growth on a like-for-like basis," Chief Executive Officer Kumar Rajagopalan said.

States in the East and South regions saw negative growth, with weak consumer demand for discretionary products, he said.

• Retail sales grew 5% in January over the previous year.

• Food grocery and jewellery reported a growth of 9% each.

• Sales of sports goods grew by 8% and beauty grew by 6%.

• Sales of consumer durables fell 1%.

• Apparel sales grew 2% despite January being a discount-heavy season.

• Furniture and furnishing sales grew 3%.

• Footwear sales grew 4%.

• North and South India indicated a growth of 5% each, followed by East India with a 3% growth.