India’s retail sales grow 8 per cent in July as footwear leads at 13 per cent

MUMBAI: India’s retail story is growing, but not all shelves are moving at the same speed. Retail sales rose 8 per cent year on year in July 2026, according to the Retailers Association of India (RAI) Business Survey, but the headline growth masks a sharp divide between categories.

Footwear led the pack with 13 per cent growth, followed by apparel and clothing at 12 per cent. Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) were the only other category to cross the double-digit mark, growing 10 per cent during the month.

At the other end, food and grocery managed just 1 per cent growth, making it the slowest-growing category in the July survey. Jewellery recorded 4 per cent, while sports goods grew 6 per cent.

Consumer durables and electronics, along with beauty, wellness and personal care, each grew 7 per cent, while furniture and furnishings matched the overall retail growth at 8 per cent.

That puts the gap between the fastest and slowest-growing categories at 12 percentage points. In growth-rate terms, footwear expanded at 13 times the pace of food and grocery, although the comparison reflects percentage growth rather than the actual size or value of sales.

The nine categories tracked by the survey broadly fell into three groups. Footwear, apparel and QSR delivered 10 per cent or more growth. Furniture and furnishings stood at 8 per cent, while consumer durables and electronics, beauty, wellness and personal care and sports goods grew between 6 per cent and 7 per cent.

Jewellery and food and grocery were the only categories to remain below 6 per cent.

The regional picture was considerably less dramatic. North and South India recorded the strongest growth at 9 per cent each, while East and West grew 6 per cent each, leaving a narrower 3-percentage-point gap between the fastest- and slowest-growing regions.

July also marked a shift from the previous month. Retail sales had grown 6 per cent nationally in June, when food and grocery was the strongest-performing category at 10 per cent and footwear grew 8 per cent.

A month later, footwear accelerated to 13 per cent, overall retail growth climbed to 8 per cent, while food and grocery swung from the top of the June table to the bottom with just 1 per cent growth.

The July numbers therefore tell a retail tale with plenty of plot twists: the market is growing, but consumers are not spreading that growth evenly across every category.