The quantum of de-growth in Retail sales has reduced as most segments in retail have started to show significant improvement. The 13th edition of the Retail Business Survey by the Retailers Association of India (RAI) indicates sales in February 2021 were at -7% of last year’s sales on a Y-o-Y comparison and at -18% in Q3FY21 on a Y-o-Y comparison.

Consumer Durables & Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) categories have shown positive growth of 15% and 18% (Y-o-Y) respectively in the month of February 2021. Categories like Footwear, Beauty, Wellness & Personal Care, Sports Goods and Food & Grocery are showing steady month-on-month recovery on a Y-o-Y comparison, signalling growth from the month of March 2021.

Recovery across regions is showing steady improvement with Eastern India indicating positive growth of 2% in the month of February. Southern & Northern India have recovered better with sales nearing pre-COVID-19 levels at -6% and -9% respectively (Y-o-Y), while Western India has progressed slower at -16% on a Y-o-Y comparison in the month of February 2021.Retailers are hopeful of achieving pre-pandemic levels of business in the first six months of the year 2021.

Consumer product companies to overhaul supply chain strategies

Consumer product companies and retailers plan to overhaul their supply chain strategies in the next three years as pandamic-led disruptions prompted companies to have better visibility on their supply chains, predict demand trends effectively and reduce dependence on global suppliers.

“As a result, over 65 percent of organisations are likely to change their strategy significantly in the next three years, as they adapt to the pandemic and embed resiliency into their operations,” according to a report by Capgemini.

Organizations said they are investing and ramping up capabilities in technologies that will help predict demand and plan their supplies in a better manner.

In India, 50 percent of organisations took 3-6 months for their supply chains to recover. Companies faced challenges spanning demand planning, anticipating consumer demand and over-reliance on global supply chains.

In India, 73 percent of organisations had difficulties in demand planning due to lack of data on fluctuating demand. However, over 65 percent of organizations plan to segment supply chains according to demand patterns, product value and regional dimensions post pandemic; over 50 percent plan to rely on analytics and AI-machine learning for demand forecasting going forward.

Also read: New world, new ways

To explore business opportunities, link with us by clicking on the 'Invite' button on our eBiz Card.

Article source: STOrai Magazine

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views, official policy or position of GlobalLinker.