Post-pandemic, Indians shopped...till they dropped (in FY24)
post-pandemic period, triggered by revenge shopping.
Zara, the world's biggest clothing retailer, and Starbucks, the largest coffee retailer globally, saw their slowest ever sales growth in India during FY24, excluding the pandemic year.
Vedant Fashions, which owns men's ethnicwear brand Manyavar, said this is the first time it has seen a weak wedding season for five quarters in a row, though a lower base will make for better sales numbers upon recovery.
Retail sales growth rate fell year-on-year every month in the previous fiscal, reflecting weak consumer sentiment across segments such as apparel, footwear and quick service restaurants (QSR).
The previous fiscal's comparatively slower 4-7% growth rate sustained this year as well, with April seeing a 4% rise, the Retailers Association of India (RAI) said after a survey of top 100 retailers.
«There is pressure across the board, but slightly higher in tier II cities, as shoppers are cautious with disposable income and not spending on discretionary products,» said Devarajan Iyer, chief executive at Lifestyle International, India's largest departmental store chain. «This slowdown is likely to continue for a longer period. We don't see any sign of recovery at least in the next three to four months.»
Revenge Shopping Petering Out
«This is something unique we have seen this time, and how we come out of this would (also) be something we see for the first time,» said Vedant Modi, chief revenue officer at Vedant Fashions, at an analysts' call. «The idea is that when we
