The Demand for Experiential Retail to Grow in 2023

In 2023, retail in India is expected to grow better than all other key markets globally with Omnichannel becoming the norm for the retailers. Concepts like these will enable millions of small retailers to participate in digital commerce.

- Sandeep Kumar

The retail industry starts another year with new goals, objectives, mission and T hopes. Another year, where the threat of the pandemic is still looming large globally, the industry cannot afford to take the step off the pedal and is gearing up for another set of challenges associated with it.

The year 2022, was a good turnaround for the industry as we witnessed every segment of retail recording a reasonable revival rate, both in terms of profits and footfalls. India's retail trading sector attracted US$ 4.11 billion FDIs between April 2000-June 2022. According to data released by the Ministry of Statistics &Programme Implementation (MOSPI), India's Consumer Price Index (CPI) based retail inflation stood at 6.77% YoY in October 2022.

Categories That Stood out

The reports and analysis from Retailers Association of India (RAI) states that retail businesses across regions have indicated growth in sales as compared to pre-pandemic levels pan India. with West India signaling growth of 25%, while South India and East India indicate a growth of 18% each followed by North India at 14% as compared to sales levels in October 2019.

Top Stories: 2022

→ Reliance Retail, part of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), became India's biggest brick-and-mortar retailer with over 16,600 stores. It is ranked 56th amongst the top global retailers with USD 18 billion in revenues and is the world's second-fastest-growing retail company behind only South Korea's Coupang. The Group acquired German retailer METRO AG's Indian cash and carry business along with assets in a ₹2,850 crore-deal in December.

→ Reliance Retail Venture Ltd. (RRVL), acquired a majority stake in leading couture house Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla (AJSK), Purple Panda Fashions (that owns and operates the Clovia business) and domestic robotics company Addverb.