What: India's retail sales grew 4% year-on-year in April 2025, with QSR and beauty sectors leading growth while regional performance varied significantly.

Why it is important: This growth aligns with broader market transformation trends, as India evolves into a USD 2 trillion retail market by 2034, with significant shifts in consumer behaviour and regional dynamics.

India's retail sector demonstrated continued resilience with a 4% year-on-year sales growth in April 2025, showcasing significant regional and category variations. North and West India led the growth at 6% and 5% respectively, while East and South India recorded more modest 2% increases. Quick service restaurants emerged as the strongest performing category with 11% growth, followed by beauty, wellness, personal care, and food and grocery sectors at 6% each. Sports goods, consumer durables, and electronics showed slower growth at 1%. Retailers Association of India (RAI) CEO Kumar Rajagopalan noted an evolution in consumer behaviour, with reduced footfall but more purposeful buying patterns and positive response to product innovations. This transformation occurs against the backdrop of broader economic developments, including ongoing India-US trade negotiations and potential implications of proposed US tariffs, highlighting the complex interplay between domestic retail growth and global trade dynamics.

IADS Notes: Recent market data underscores India's retail transformation. In January 2025, the expansion into Tier 2+ cities was identified as a key trend, while February 2025 saw 27 new international brands entering the market. March 2025 projections showed affluent households reaching 30% by 2035, supporting the growth in discretionary spending. The e-retail sector's evolution to a USD 60 billion market in April 2025 further validates this trajectory. May 2025 data revealing 52% of consumers switching to private labels demonstrates the market's increasing sophistication, with shoppers balancing quality and value considerations.

April saw a 4% rise in retail sales in India: Survey