India plans first nationwide retail sales survey to track item-wise consumption

MUMBAI: India is preparing to count not just what people buy, but what retailers actually sell.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is considering launching the country’s first nationwide retail sales survey, a move that would generate item-wise sales data across retail outlets and fill a long-standing gap in India’s official consumption statistics, Moneycontrol reported.

According to people familiar with the matter, the proposed survey would collect granular sales data directly from retailers rather than households, providing policymakers with a clearer picture of consumer demand across products, regions and retail formats.

The survey is expected to cover a broad spectrum of businesses, including grocery stores, pharmacies, utensil shops, apparel retailers and other outlets selling both consumer durables and non-durables.

Currently, India’s primary source of consumption data is the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES), which measures what households spend and consume. While the survey offers valuable insights into consumer behaviour, it does not capture actual sales at the retail level.

The proposed retail sales survey is intended to complement the HCES by measuring consumption from the supply side, allowing the government to monitor transactions occurring across retail establishments.

Such data could provide a more detailed understanding of how demand is evolving across geographies, income segments and product categories, particularly as consumption patterns become increasingly fragmented between urban and rural markets and across organised and unorganised retail.

Officials believe the survey could also improve visibility into spending across essential goods, discretionary purchases and other consumer categories, strengthening policymakers’ ability to assess demand conditions in the economy.

The initiative forms part of MoSPI’s broader effort to modernise India’s statistical system by improving the frequency, depth and coverage of official economic datasets.

While digital payment platforms such as UPI already generate high-frequency transaction data, they provide only a partial view of retail activity as they do not capture the full spectrum of sales across physical stores and payment methods.

The retail sales survey remains under discussion, with its methodology, coverage and implementation timeline yet to be finalised. Government officials are expected to undertake further consultations before the survey is formally rolled out.

If introduced, the exercise could become an important addition to India’s economic data toolkit, offering policymakers, businesses and economists a more comprehensive measure of consumption momentum alongside the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey and other high-frequency demand indicators.