Covid-19 has hit the income of around 60% households across India. The study, conducted by Nielsen across 12 cities, also discovered that eight of every 10 respondents had one or more mid- and big ticket items, such as domestic travel or a durables purchase, planned in the March-June period. However, only 28% of them wanted to go ahead with their plans once the restrictions are relaxed, the rest have either put their plans on hold or cancelled them.
The pandemic claimed other victims too. For instance, India’s fast-moving consumer goods sales clocked a 34% decline in April over the same period last year, with traditional trade channels, including kiranas, leading the sharp drop. Modern trade consisting of departmental stores and cash & carry stores, however, continued to grow.
In foods, modern trade shoppers reduced focus on staples, when they moved into the lockdown period but continued to shop for convenience items such as noodles and frozen food.
