Retail consumption witnessed an annual increase of 9.3 per cent in the B2C segment, in the key 11 sectors during the April–September 2023 period, per a report by CMS Info Systems. Retail Consumption Trends by CMS Info Systems has revealed key consumption trends in the organised retail segment in the first half of FY24 through a comprehensive analysis spanning 11 sectors such as large format retail, jewelry, FMCG, e-commerce, hospitality, and aviation, among others. It provided a view into consumers’ spending trends as seen in FY24 compared to FY23, which included the Cricket World Cup event, festival, and wedding season.
The FMCG and e-commerce sectors experienced an annual increase of 26.2 per cent and 19.4 per cent respectively, during Q2FY24, reflecting rising consumer demand in these sectors amid easing inflation. The Aviation and Hospitality sectors, meanwhile, saw annual growth of 29.7 per cent and 12.8 per cent in Q2FY24 respectively, reflecting increased demand for travel, driven by large events such as the Cricket World Cup. The jewelry sector saw an annual growth of 7.1 per cent, in contrast to a 4.6 per cent decline in Q2FY23, suggesting higher spending triggered by the wedding season and endorsing post-pandemic demand bounce-back. The large format retail sector experienced an annual increase of 7.8 per cent in Q2FY24, driven by factors such as rising incomes, urbanization, and changing consumer preferences.
From a demographic perspective, metro cities which had grown the fastest from Q2FY23 to Q1FY24, were outpaced in H1FY24 by semi-urban and rural, which saw the fastest consumption growth of 9.2 per cent YoY, triggered by improved discretionary spending and demonstrating tailwinds in the rural economy.
“CMS Cash Index (CCI) has proven to be a very powerful indicator to track commerce transactions by consumers and has been referred to by various policymakers as well. The surge in retail consumption parallels the 7.6 per cent GDP growth in the Q2-FY24, boosted by easing inflation. Taking cues from these macroeconomic indicators, we expect a stronger consumption growth in Q3FY24, especially in FMCG, e-commerce, and aviation sectors,” said Anush Raghavan, President, Cash Management Solutions at CMS Info Systems.