Retailers Association of India, the industry body, says that retail sales in India declined by 50 percent in June due to the continued restrictions in the wake of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, as compared to the same month in 2019 before the health crisis hit.

In its latest business survey, of RAI said the highest decline was witnessed in the sports goods category at 66 percent, while foods and grocery had the least with a dip of just 7 percent as compared to June 2019. "Retail businesses continue to be strained and are finding it difficult to sustain due to restricted timing of operations and weekend closures," RAI CEO Kumar Rajagopalan said in a statement.

RAI said the East zone witnessed the biggest decline in June this year at 55 percent, followed by West and South with declines of 50 percent each and North with a dip of 43 percent when compared to June 2019. However, the June performance was far better compared to May when the overall retail business in India declined by 79 percent as compared to the same month in 2019. Showing signs of recovery, the beauty, wellness, and personal care category had a dip of 57 percent in June as compared to the same month in 2019. In May, the category had a decline of 87 percent as against May 2019.

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