Mayday for FMCG, electronic companies as demand begins to sputter

Mayday for FMCG, electronic companies as demand begins to sputter

• By Staff Writer

India's fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market's value growth fell 16.5% sequentially in May compared with the month of April, signaling reduced consumer spending on daily essentials due to rising prices across products.

Sales grew 33% as compared to the May of last year, when the country was in lockdown due to the deadly Delta wave, according to the latest report by Bizom, a sales automation firm that tracks 7.5 million retail stores.

Even for electronics such as air-conditioners and refrigerators, sales fell up to 15% in May on a sequential month comparison, industry executives said.

"Overall, there's been a volume compression in the recent past due to high inflation and resultant price hikes. This rising inflation continued to exert pressure on the consumer's wallet, which led to softening of demand and downtrading across product categories," said Mohit Malhotra, chief executive officer of Dabur NSE 0.80 %. "While there is immediate pressure, we expect rural consumption to drive back growth by the end of the first quarter.''