The third wave of the COVID pandemic dealt a body blow to Indian retailers, who were just trying to get back on their feet.
As per data released by the Retailers Association, sales on a pan India basis plummeted by 9 percent in January compared to January 2020, a pre-COVID month. Eastern India with a 14 percent fall was the worst affected.
The situation is similar for the auto sector as well. Data from auto dealers highlights that vehicle sales fell by over 10 percent last month when compared to January last year. As per the Federation of Automobile Dealers, non availability of passenger vehicles due to semi-conductor shortage continues to play spoilsport. An internal survey revealed that 55 percent dealers lost over 10 percent sales due to the third wave.
To discuss impact of third wave and road ahead for retail and auto sector, CNBC-TV18 spoke to Vinkesh Gulati, President of FADA; Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO of Retailers Association of India and Ankur Bisen, Senior Partner & Head of Retail at Technopak Advisors.
Watch video for more.