Fashion pulse: India - August 2026

Consumer prices (August, provisional)

India's consumer price index (CPI) inflation rose to 4.82 percent year-on-year in August 2026 from 4.45 percent in July, according to provisional data from India's National Statistical Office (NSO). Clothing and footwear prices rose 3.56 percent YoY, up from a provisional 3.38 percent in July, and remained below headline inflation. Clothing prices rose 3.93 percent and footwear prices 1.12 percent.

Clothing and footwear inflation was higher in rural areas, at 4.17 percent, than in urban areas, at 2.57 percent, according to NSO. Urban footwear prices fell 0.65 percent YoY. Outside the clothing and footwear category, silver jewellery prices rose 107.11 percent and gold, diamond and platinum jewellery 35.53 percent.

Retail sales (August)

Sales of apparel and clothing rose 10 percent YoY in August, up from 8 percent in July, according to an industry survey by the Retailers Association of India (RAI). Footwear sales rose 8 percent, down from 10 percent in July, while overall retail sales rose 10 percent. Deflated by the clothing CPI, apparel sales growth was roughly 6 percent in real terms.

By region, retail sales rose 11 percent in western India, 10 percent in southern India, 9 percent in northern India and 8 percent in eastern India, according to RAI. Among other categories, quick-service restaurants led with 15 percent growth, while jewellery sales rose 9 percent and beauty, wellness and personal care 8 percent.

Macro context (August)

Wholesale prices for manufactured textiles rose 12.63 percent YoY in August, after 12.80 percent in July, while wholesale prices for wearing apparel rose 3.12 percent, according to provisional data from the Office of the Economic Adviser. India's unemployment rate edged down to 5.0 percent in August from 5.1 percent in July, according to NSO's Periodic Labour Force Survey. Urban unemployment was 6.8 percent and rural unemployment 4.1 percent.

Monetary policy and currency (August)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left the repo rate unchanged at 5.25 percent in August. The dollar averaged 95.47 rupees in August, down from 95.82 rupees in July, according to reference rates from Financial Benchmarks India (FBIL), a 0.4 percent rise in the value of the rupee. Compared with August 2025, when the dollar averaged 87.52 rupees, the rupee was 8.3 percent weaker.

The bottom line

Indian clothing and footwear prices rose 3.56 percent YoY in August, below headline inflation of 4.82 percent. RAI's survey shows apparel sales up 10 percent, roughly 6 percent after deflating by the clothing CPI, while wholesale textile prices rose 12.63 percent against 3.12 percent for wearing apparel. Unemployment edged down to 5.0 percent.

Note: this article combines the most recent official data available at the time of writing. Reporting lags differ by indicator and country, so not all figures refer to the same month. Each data point is labelled with its reference period.