Demand storms back in July after rain check in a wet quarter

Mumbai | Kolkata: Sales of daily essentials, household items, and lifestyle products recovered in July, lifting hopes of a steady revival this quarter and for the entire fiscal year. Orders for fast-moving consumer goods at kirana, or neighbourhood stores, rose 8.6% YoY in July, from a 4.6% increase in June, according to Bizom.

Mobile phone sales climbed 7-8% YoY in July, per market tracker Counterpoint Research.

Sales of home appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines rebounded 7% YoY in July, from a 18-20% decline in June. Sales in the segment had fallen 15- 18% on-year in the June quarter.

“July sales were better than June, and August too is looking better as of now,” said Satish NS, president at Haier India, the country’s third largest electronics maker. “The early festive season this year has improved mood,” he said, adding that the company recorded 15% YoY growth in July.

Early and erratic monsoon rains impacted June quarter sales across most consumer goods segments. It was particularly evident in demand for summercentric products such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and beverages.

Sales of daily groceries and household and personal products slowed to a 3.9% increase on-year in the June quarter, according to market researcher Numerator, formerly Kantar. “Growth in the commodities and dairy segments has been largely inflation-driven,” said Harshit Bora, analytics head at Bizom.



“Chocolate and confectionery category has seen an uptick in sales of Rs 5-and-below SKUs (stock keeping units),” said Bora.

“A good monsoon has also sparked signs of a revival in rural markets which grew 10.3%.” “Good monsoon will go very well for rural demand,” Godrej Consumer Products CFO Aasif Malbari told ET. “Even from an urban perspective, interventions both on fiscal and tax side should go well for the year. So, there is likely to be a sequential improvement outlook also for FY26 compared to FY25 from a demand point of view.”

Despite sporadic rainfall, a strong harvest tempered food inflation, a key concern for the past several quarters, especially among rural consumers. Companies including Marico, Godrej Consumer Products, Britannia, and Hindustan Unilever, during recent post- earnings calls, maintained guidance for broad-based recovery in consumption sentiment backed by easing retail and food inflation, a favourable monsoon, increased government spending, and higher minimum support prices.

Market recovery has improved in July with good business during sales events by e-commerce marketplaces as well as offline channels, noted Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint. “There were multiple new launches which helped boost sales... Trade inventory has come down. The run-up to the festive period is quite buoyant after two years.”