Retail Spending Maintains Growth in Q2 FY27, Tier 3 Cities Consistently Outperform Metros: RAI–Innoviti SANKET Report

Supplementary festive-period analysis shows 21.7% growth in eastern India’s pre-Navratri spending, led by Fashion & Lifestyle

India’s retail sector maintained positive growth through the second quarter of FY2026-27, with smaller cities consistently outperforming metros and UPI-linked spending growing significantly faster than card-linked spending, according to the latest RAI–Innoviti SANKET (Spends & Key Emerging Trends) report.

The report, jointly developed by the Retailers Association of India (RAI) and Innoviti Technologies, draws insights from over 70 million purchases captured at more than 100,000 checkout points across 2,800 towns and cities and over 10,000 PIN codes in India. It tracks like-for-like (LFL) retail spending at the same stores, providing insights into consumer demand across categories, geographies, and payment methods.