Retailers Association of India (RAI) in its latest survey report has showed that retail sales in India slipped 79 per cent in May compared to pre-COVID sales in the same month of 2019, as businesses across states were closed due to the second wave of the pandemic.
As per the report, the decline in sales was the steepest in West and North India, which witnessed an 83 per cent dip last month as compared to May 2019, while eastern region saw a decline of 75 per cent, while South was relatively better with degrowth of 73 per cent as compared to the same month in 2019.
Retailers Association of India further noted that on a sequential basis, the decline in May was much steeper compared to the previous month, when overall sales across India were down 49 per cent as compared to April 2019.